Beth Gibbons

Beth Gibbons is an English singer-songwriter. She is the singer, musician, and songwriter for the band Portishead, who have released three albums and won the Mercury Prize for their debut album ‘Dummy’ which was released in 1994. In 2016 they were recognised at the Ivor Novellos 61^st Awards receiving the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to British Music’.

She released an album with fellow English musician Rustin Man, Out of Season, in 2002

In 2014, Gibbons performed Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki. Gibbons sang in Polish. The performance was released in 2019; reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Jayson Greene wrote: “Part of the tension comes from hearing her untrained voice scale these rocky heights. Her vibrato, tight and trilling and barely controlled, sounds an awful lot like someone fighting off a panic attack. This would get her dismissed from a traditional opera audition, probably, but it is magnificently effective at sending raw shudders through what can be a pretty well-worn work. In 2022, Gibbons was featured on the track “Mother I Sober” from Kendrick Lamar‘s album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. For her collaboration in the album she received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards as a featured artist and songwriter

On 7 February 2024, Gibbons announced the release of her first solo studio album in over 20 years. The album, titled Lives Outgrown, was released 17 May 2024. It was announced alongside a single titled “Floating on a Moment”, with its second single “Reaching Out” being released later that year on 10 April and a third single ‘Lost Changes’ in May.

The album has received critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize.