Philip Selway plays five small venues for Independent Venue Week

Philip Selway played five independent venues this week for Independent Venue Week, the yearly celebration of the UK's small music rooms, held for the tenth time from 30 January to 5 February. Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio 6 Music had named him the first ambassador for the anniversary at a launch in London in October.

At the Georgian Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees on Thursday, eight of his 13 songs came from Strange Dance, his third solo album, which is not out until 24 February. The set opened with “Coming Up for Air” and closed with “There'll Be Better Days”, and the new songs included the title track, due as a single on Wednesday, and “Picking Up Pieces”, out since January.

The week before the run, Selway told the Big Issue that small venues matter for more than being where new performers start. They are an end in themselves. They have a particular kind of cultural value.⁵ The Big Issue has the interview.

Dates

Setlist, Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees, 2 February