Hayden Thorpe is going back to the source. The Wild Beasts frontman has announced three intimate solo shows this November, performing the Wild Beasts songbook live for the first time in nearly nine years. No band, no production, just voice and instrument, exactly as the songs were written. It’s a deliberately stripped-back approach, and for music this emotionally precise, that’s exactly the right call.
The timing carries real weight. The dates align with the 20th anniversary of Wild Beasts’ first single, “Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants,” making this a genuine milestone moment. Thorpe has been deliberate about the venue choices too, each room holding specific meaning in the band’s history. Brewery Arts in Kendal was their cultural home base growing up. Hoxton Hall was the site of a breakthrough show during the ‘Two Dancers’ era. Brudenell Social Club in Leeds is where, as Thorpe puts it, they came of age as musicians.
Thorpe describes the decision as deeply personal: “I’ve been missing the songs myself of late, so it felt like a ripe time to reach for the high notes and call on my hand’s muscle memory.” He’s also fresh off the release of his third solo album ‘Ness’ and currently has a sound installation, WETLANDS, running at London’s Walthamstow Wetlands through June. The solo shows will let longtime fans reconnect with a catalog that’s clearly lost none of its power.
Tickets are on sale now. These are small, meaningful rooms for music that deserves that kind of attention.
Hayden Thorpe Performing the Songs of Wild Beasts:
November 14, Brewery Arts, Kendal
November 17, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
November 19, Hoxton Hall, London