Chichester debut for US singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd

Working at the intersection of folk, Americana, indie pop and soul, Juliet’s sound has drawn comparisons to artists like Brandi Carlile, Aimee Mann and Tori Amos.

Last year she played Brighton and Winchester on the south coast; this year she is playing Brighton and Chichester.

Juliet, who lives just outside Washington DC, said: “Every minute of the tour last year was wonderful. I think it was one of the highlights of my musical career to date. It was everything that I hoped that it would be. I had friends that had toured the UK and I've got friends there, and everything that they said was right about how warm and welcoming the communities are around the wonderful live venues, Which is not something that I'd really experienced in the States. It was wonderful to see. In the States the smaller venues like that are much fewer and further between. So many have really struggled since Covid, and I know it's a struggle in the UK as well but they seem to be doing well.

“And the audiences were great. I experienced people coming up at the end saying that they wanted a signed setlist, and I had an individual who came to a show in Stoke and had a copy of a CD of mine that had been released in 2007. I asked him how he had found it. I hadn’t brought those CDs on the tour. He said he had had it recommended by a friend and he had already listened to it and already had favourite tracks. It was lovely.”

And to come back again now is great: “I do feel that I know the country now. Leading up to the tour last summer I was really anxious because there were so many unknowns. I couldn't picture anything. I'm now much, much less anxious about the whole thing. I think now I have got a real sense of how people show up, and I'm really excited to play some of the places I went to last year that will be familiar. But I'm also really excited to be playing some places that I don’t know already.

“(Since last summer) I have done some recordings and I've written a fair amount lately. There will be some new unreleased songs that I be debuting. And I've had a few singles that I've put out since the last tour including one that takes aim at the political environment in the States. I wrote that at the end of 2025 and I sing it now and already it feels dated because things have got so much worse.”

She says to call Donald Trump embarrassing just doesn't cover it: “It has gone way beyond embarrassment now.

“Last summer I was slightly tentative about what was happening in the States and (on the UK tour) I was feeling that I needed to lead with an apology but I was met with such grace. Everyone was saying that they understand what our country is going through and that they knew it was not me! I hope that I will be received with the same sense of grace when I come back this year but I know that things are so much worse than they were last year”

Juliet is at the Folklore Rooms, Brighton with support from Aquila on April 29 at 7.30pm. Tickets at https://www.seetickets.com/event/juliet-lloyd-at-the-folklore-rooms/the-folklore-rooms/3555059

She is also playing at the Havana Bar, Chichester on April 30 at 8pm. Tickets at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/havanamusicfoundation/1917836