Chris Cleverley

Chris Cleverley was born under a solstice moon, in the honeysuckle mysticism of a late 80s Midsummer. As his fledgling days unfurled, the symbolic sounds of ?Hunky Dory?, ?Gracelands? and ?Ladies of The Canyon? echoed from the woodchip walls of the South Birmingham terrace where he was raised; quiet and curious, saturnine and shy.  Here, the soul of a young artist was shaped. Fast-forward three decades; Four nationally acclaimed albums under his belt, and ringing endorsements from The Times, Telegraph and BBC6 Music. Cleverley?s boundary-shattering ?Dream-Folk? songwriting & astonishing fingerstyle guitar have placed him firmly among the new-wave of pioneering artists carving an uncharted path through the UK acoustic landscape. His visceral lyrical style was shaped by hazy evenings lost to the Lo-fi American-Indie Greats, as Sufjan Stevens, Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith weaved through the lantern light and shimmering incense.  Emerging as a true guitar-man, his elaborate alternate tunings, percussive rhythms and ambient sound design command a full spectrum of emotions, from pindrop silence to rapturous applause. Meanwhile the bold, unflinching precision of his songwriting shines a light on universal human themes, exploring displaced people, pervasive artificial intelligence and the awesome healing power of nature;  Jarringly raw, hauntingly serene and effortlessly 21st Century. His 2022 album 'Broadcast The Secret Verse' released to widespread critical acclaim, leading to his receipt of FATEA Magazine's 'Male Artist of 2022' Award, and a string of lucrative performances including Cambridge Folk Festival, Deepdale Festival and Manchester's English Folk Expo.  With replenishing calm and warm humour, his one-man live show occupies the space between a concert performance and a yoga nidra meditation; a singular stagecraft that reflects true understanding of the live performance as a vehicle for human connection and the healing power of music in a fractured, fragmented modern world. Cleverley returns to his hometown of Birmingham with special guests ?Awake Mother?, the new project of Americana favourites Minnie Birch & Kathy Pilkinton. "Rather Lovely Electro-Folk" (Radcliffe & Maconie - BBC 6 MUSIC). "The feel of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens" (???? - Scottish Daily Express). "Frighteningly brilliant works"  (The Daily Star - 50 artists to watch in 2023). "One of the best albums of 2022 - 9/10" (Americana UK).