LEGENDARY American artiste, activist and 2017 R&R Hall of Fame inductee, Joan Baez, will be performing in the Midlands in March as part of what is being billed as her last ever world tour.

She’ll be at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in conjunction with the release of a new studio album, her first since 2008’s Day After Tomorrow.

Her Second City appearance on Wednesday, March 14 (7.30pm) will help provide part of a fitting finale and give her fans in the Midlands what is possibly the last chance to see her perform live in Birmingham!

Baez’s career has spanned over 50 years during which she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963, marched on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement with Martin Luther King, inspired Vaclav Havel to fight for a Czech Republic, and continues to this day to stand passionately on behalf of causes she embraces.

She is the recipient of many honours including the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience award. 

Another American lady with a great voice will also be performing in Birmingham in March.

Beth Nielsen Chapman will be at Birmingham’s Town Hall on Wednesday, March 21 (8pm) as part of a UK tour with her new Americana release, Hearts Of Glass, a powerful collection of songs that dig deep into the place within us where vulnerability meets strength.

Produced by Sam Ashworth, Hearts Of Glass is sparse and beautifully recorded.

The songs, mostly written by Beth alone, include several new compositions, from the haunting Epitaph For Love to the instant classic You’re Still My Valentine, to the infectious Enough For Me written with Sam. The opening track, Come To Mine, the only other co-written song, was composed with the legendary Graham Gouldman and Kevin Montgomery at Chris Difford’s Songwriting retreat in Somerset England.

Beth said: “My intention was to do an album of songs 100 per cent written by me, and bring together those kinds of songs have that certain focus and vibe, but Come To Mine just jumped out and insisted on leading the pack!  It’s timely what with all that’s swirling around in the world right now. The same is true for the closing track Dancer To The Drum which provides the perfect bookend”.