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JOAN ARMATRADING ON TOUR:
More than four decades after her debut, British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading remains one of the country's most beloved and respected musical figures. Armatrading's honey-toned voice and raw, emotional lyrics earned her a string of hits in the '70s and '80s, and she's only improved over the years, delivering ever more moving and passionate performances on each successive tour. She's a veritable legend on the guitar, and whether she's picking out tunes on a six-string or a twelve-string, she never fails to impress with her nimble fingers and soulful playing. On the road in 2015 for the tour A Very Special Solo Evening with Joan Armatrading, the beloved singer offers fans a rare treat -- intimate, career-spanning solo performances featuring stripped-down renditions of classics like "Love and Affection" and "The Weakness in Me".
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Caribbean-born Joan Armatrading spent her early childhood on Saint Kitts and Antigua before moving to Birmingham, England with her family at age seven. She picked up the guitar and piano in her early teens, and at age 16 she made her performance debut at Birmingham University with a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence". She released her first album Whatever’s for Us in 1972 and the follow-up Back to the Night in 1975, but she truly made a mark in 1976 when she cracked the Top 20 on the UK Albums Charts with her self-titled third album. The record's lead single "Love and Affection" was a Top 10 hit in the UK and also earned her a growing fanbase in the US, where she performed the song on Saturday Night Live in 1977. She cemented her status as the first black British female musician to achieve international success with her 1980 album Me Myself I, a new wave-influenced album that introduced a harder, rock edge to her sound and marked the pinnacle of her chart success. Armatrading has remained prolific ever since, releasing popular albums throughout the '90s and '00s. Following the 2012 release of her album Starlight, Armatrading hinted at retirement, meaning that the performances on her 2015 solo tour may be among her last.
Joan Armatrading was fantastic! She played all her greats...and really, they are all greats! The Orpheum is a PERFECT venue for a concert. My seat was front row balcony. The show was an hour and 45 minutes. She showed some slides/pictures, basically of her career/life. There was much I didn't know about her. So glad I had the opportunity to see this show.
the Orpheum was on my bucket list and it did not disappoint, a flashback to years gone by, and can still hold a tune, so did Joan Armatrading at 64 years young her voice didn't waiver once, a solo intimate performance played out with humor and poignancy, covering all decades, I saw her in the 70's and 80's and seeing her in 2015 brought it full circle, go see her while you still can ...all the way from America.
I have been a loyal Joan fan since the 70's. I been to 7 previous concert's which were all great. This last one in lax on saturday night was Terrible. Bad song selection ( very few popular songs ) the sound mixing was terrible as was the sound quality. Some song's she played a prerecorded background that was sounded bad and out of sync. She had an annoying screen behind her playing video/slide show. She played less than 2 hours of which 15 minutes were taken up of here showing her with different celebrity's. Home movie's--Bad Taste. She desperately needed her band. Please Don't waste your time or money on this pathetic show. This will sadly be my last Joan concert.
I've been a huge fan of Joan Armatrading for about 35 years, so I was so excited to finally see her in concert this past Saturday night at the Orpheum Theater. The opening act was Casey Frazier singing solo with his guitar and he was very good, mellow and entertaining. We even bought his 2 CDs in the lobby afterward. Ms. Armatrading was wonderful. She was witty and such a professional singer and musician. She still rocks! Bluesy and commanding. Alone on stage, she still sings great as she either played guitar or piano organ. She also had a slide show behind her showing pictures of her through the years as she chatted with the audience or images that enhanced her songs, if that's possible.. My husband was with me and he was not really familiar with her music and I know he really enjoyed the evening a lot. Of course, I couldn't stop playing her CDs to the Orpheum and back home and for the next few days too. We'd never been to the Orpheum before and though it was old fashioned with the fringed curtains above the stage, there were plenty of stalls in the bathrooms, cup holders on the seats and nice ushers.
This concert exceeded all my expectations. Joan played solo without a back up band, and she certainly didn't need one. Her amazing voice is stronger than ever and her guitar and keyboard skills superb. Joan also gave a brief but entertaining and informative overview of her career. She narrated the media show with both humility humor and I'm glad she did. They are saying that this is Joan's last major world tour, and given her age this may be the case. Do yourself a favor and catch this show if you can. I'd go again in a second.
So glad I didn’t miss this - she’s an amazing singer, her voice will last forever!
Better than expected, a solo show could have been a little boring, but this owas not. I loved the way she engaged with the audience and took every moment in. She played all the songs I had hoped for and after all these years can still deliver.
Joan Armatrading still rocks at age 64. Voice was great and her sense of humor was delightful. An additional surprise was the venue at Parker Playhouse. The art deco architecture was like stepping back in time and provided an intimate setting for a great performer.
Loved the show ... Joan is not only a very talented musician but she's hysterical.
Even though this venue is quite large, Joan created an intimate evening as a solo act. She played three different guitars as well as keyboards and sang many of her greatest hits. The only improvement for the evening would have been to monitor down the sound level overall especially the instrumentation as they tended to drown out her vocals at various times. The volume also hurt the ears where both my husband and I used kleenex to damper the discomfort of that. Amazing how many sound engineers out there are absolutely deaf!
had a great time, being with family and friends listening to Joan
This made the second time I've had the priviledge of seeing Ms. Armatrading. Once in 1988 (or so) at the Wiltern Theater in Hollywood, California and now this show in Ft. Lauderdale. Unlike many artists who's voices deteriorate over time who must change melodies to avoid the 'high notes', Joan sounded just the same as I remember her from 27 or so years ago. I had forgotten what a master of the guitar she is! I was so happy to be able to take a young friend of mine with me (who wasn't even born yet when I first attended Ms. Armatrading's show in Hollywood) and expose him to a different type of artist than those he's familiar with (hip hop and rap, pop, etc). He had a great time and gained a new perspective on true artistry. I'm saddened to learn that this is advertised as Joan's final world tour. I would gladly go see her again and again and again. Thank you, Joan Armatrading, for sharing your amazing soul and talents with all of us!
Joan was charming and her guitar work super. The crowd adored her. But the sound system in Parker Playhouse was horrifically loud and distorted. I had to put in earplugs to enjoy the music.
Funny, entertaining, engaging, I could go on and on! A tad heavy on the electric guitar but was awesome in every other category!!
Simply amazing and very glad we attended this concert.
So wonderful to see Joan Armatrading on her last world tour! She was charming and engaging — and her performances were lovely and touching.
Joan Armatrading is a captivating performer. She is playing this tour by herself, but she fills up the stage!
Joan Armatrading in the US! Joan did a few numbers from her early years that were sung with guitar or keyboards- truly enjoyed. Later in her career she played a lot of rock with electric guitar and head banging riffs. The audience went wild. I did not as I was geared for a retrospective tour proportioned to the music I have always identified her with... Hearts and flowers, always, in your eyes, merchant of love, etc I love Joan's music from her early decades ... If you are looking for that, you might want to stay home and put on a CD. But, she is a incredible artist and woman of diversity and change... So for that, I was honored to see her live in concert.
Joan Armatrading Rocks!! I listened to her on my walkman back in 1980-1982 when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Wow! What memories it brought back. Keep rocking Joan!!
Seeing Joan Armatrading was like reconnecting with a friend. My only regret is that, while she has been by my side, singing triumphs and failures for decades, I could not return the favor by telling her that she didn't have to sing "Willow" if it wasn't in her. Just being Joan Armatrading is enough. Always will be.
