The singer of the Bristol band took to the Gobi Stage at Coachella for her first performance at the festival since Portishead’s show in 2008.

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Coming off the back of her critically acclaimed debut solo album, ‘Lives Outgrown’, Gibbons 10-song performance consisted of mostly tracks from that EP, with ‘Glory Box’ and her 2002 collaboration with Rustin Man, ‘Tom The Model’, being the outliers. 

Check out the full setlist below: 

‘Tell Me Who You Are Today’

‘Burden Of Life’

‘Floating On A Moment’

‘Rewind’

‘For Sale’

‘Lost Changes’

‘Tom The Model’

‘Beyond The Sun’

‘Glory Box’

‘Reaching Out’

Gibbons has recently been touring North America to showcase her debut solo EP, which was last year nominated for the Mercury Prize along with the likes of Charli XCX, Nia Archives and English Teacher.

Although Gibbons couldn’t replicate Portishead, after they won the Mercury Prize in 1994 with their debut album ‘Dummy’, just being nominated must’ve been a moment of reflection and full circle with her debut solo album being nominated for the same esteemed award that she won over 30 years ago.

After finishing up at Coachella next weekend, Gibbons will head back to Europe to continue touring her album, including a show at the Roundhouse in London. Tickets for this gig and all her other upcoming shows can be found here.

The Roundhouse show will be one of only two performances in the UK this year for Gibbons, with the other coming on the same weekend at Glastonbury 2025. It will mark Gibbons’ fifth performance at Glasto’, following on from her solo slot on the Acoustic Stage in 2003 and Portishead’s three gigs in 1995, 1998 and 2013.

Glastonbury-goers will be hoping for a similar performance to what the ‘Sour Times’ singer gave to Coachella this weekend. The comments on this ‘Stereogum’ article show just how excited fans are by this upcoming era for Gibbons. 

User ‘beyondless’ said: “My Boyfriend and I were at the Denver show… she did Roads and Glory Box for the encore and I don’t know if I’ve ever heard and participated in such a long standing ovation for any artist I’ve seen previously! Her voice still sounds fantastic and it was a once in a lifetime show. She is truly incredible!”

Gibbons debut album earned a four-star NME review and was named as the 26th Best Album of 2024 in their list. 

Speaking in the review, NME writer Huw Baines said: “She cannily foregrounds the weather-beaten gravitas of her vocal at each turn, its familiarity holding us tight so that, in parallel, she can undercut that feeling of safety by continually pointing out the grains of sand falling into the wrong half of the hourglass.”

Gibbons will perform at the second weekend of Coachella next Saturday where you can catch the live stream on their YouTube. Tickets for her Roundhouse show in June are still available here.

Other artists to feature on the list for the prestigious award are Scottish electronic DJ and Producer Barry Can’t Swim, Jungle artist Nia Archives, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae, and grime artist Ghetts. The remaining nominees are Berwyn, Cat Burns, CMAT, Corto.alto, and English Teacher.

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The full list of Albums nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize are:

Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?

Berwyn – Who Am I

Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown

Cat Burns – Early Twenties

Charli XCX – Brat

CMAT – Crazymad, For Me

Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows

Corto.alto – Bad With Names

English Teacher – This Could Be Texas

Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose

Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud

The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy

The mercury Prize is undoubtedly a great opportunity for up-and-coming artists. So, it therefore makes sense that the list of nominees this year has been dominated by debuts with 8 of the 12 albums nominated being debuts which is double what it was last year.

One of the debut albums on the list being The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ and this is the biggest selling album so far on the list, however, Charli XCX’ ‘Brat’ has momentum at the moment and is likely to overtake ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ this week.

Among the eight debut albums that made the list this year is Beth Gibbon’s ‘Lives Outgrown. Although Gibbons has released numerous albums as a member of Portishead this record is her debut as a solo artist. According to Music Week Gibbons said: “Really great surprise to be part of the 12 Mercury albums of the year, something I never expected. Big thanks to all who have supported the album, it means so much.”

Nominees Charli XCX, Corinne Bailey Rae and Ghetts have all been nominated for the Mercury Prize before but none of them have won the award.

The list of nominees, as well as the winner, has been chosen by an independent Judging panel and has been taken from a wide range of genres. Albums released by British and Irish artists between July 15, 2023, and July 12, 2024, were eligible for the award.

Earlier in the week it was revealed that the traditional award ceremony with live performances has been dropped this year. More details of what this entails are set to be revealed closer to when the winner is announced but Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the BPI, home to the Mercury Prize, said: “For the 2024 Mercury Prize we will work imaginatively with the BBC to deliver a premium programme of music content and digital engagement that will, as ever, benefit all 12 artists in reaching a wider audience, providing an important platform for their evolving career and musical journey.”

Birkin rose to prominence after appearing in the 1966 film Blow-Up before heading to France to star in the 1968 satirical romantic comedy Slogan alongside Gainsbourg, performing with him on the film’s theme song. This was to be the first of many collaborations between the two, whose working relationship soon blossomed into a passionate love affair. 

Check out the trailer for Blow-Up:

The pair quickly won over the hearts of the public and became France’s most famous couple -  renowned for their work as much as their hedonistic and bohemian lifestyle. After their separation in 1980, Birkin branched out into more serious film roles, gaining three nominations at the César awards. She continued to work both as an actress and a singer until a few years prior to her death, appearing in various arthouse films and recording numerous albums, for which Gainsbourg would often pen a song.

Listen to the famous Birkin-Gainsbourg collaboration “Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus” below:

Perhaps the British native’s most famous accolade however, is for her contribution to fashion as the inspiration for the Hermès Birkin bag, which was named after her following a chance encounter with the company’s chief executive on a flight to London. The Hermès Birkin continues to be an accessory staple amongst the rich and famous and remains one of the most expensive bags on the market to this day.

Following the news of Birkin’s death, both fans and celebrities haven taken to social media to pay tribute to the late pop icon. 

Marianne Faithfull, an old friend, wrote: “Dearest Jane has gone. I admired her as an artist so much and I’m very glad we got to work together. […] We first met several lifetimes ago – and from that day I always thought she possessed such beauty and style […] How I wanted to look like her and be like her! Her style will endure of course but she was a dear friend and I will always love her.”

Johnny Marr, who featured on Birkin’s 2006 album Fictions, described his collaborator as “a sweet and kind person with a heart for art”, while Beth Gibbons of Portishead lamented: “I’m so sad to hear that Jane Birkin has gone. She was such a beautiful, generous and kind soul. She was one of the nicest people I’ve worked with and always made me feel so at ease.”

I’m so sad to hear that Jane Birkin has gone. She was such a beautiful, generous and kind soul.
She was one of the nicest people I’ve worked with and always made me feel so at ease.
This is us rehearsing for a performance together in Francepic.twitter.com/Ep0VFhELjk

— Beth Gibbons (@realbethgibbons) July 16, 2023

Placebo’s Brian Molko shared a photo of the French icon alongside the caption: “I got a message for Jane. Soul beauty personified. I can’t begin to explain what a privilege it’s been to have you in my life. I loved you from the day we met and will continue to do so until it’s my time. Your grace and dignity were inspirations, your generosity a priceless gift. Sleep peacefully beautiful one.”