Ruth was one of our judges on our “My Disabled World” poetry competition. Ruth has a new record out shortly and will, next week, be visiting America where she is both a showcase artist and also an activist representing ‘Attitude is Everything’ as one of their ambassadors to speak on an international panel discussing accessibility in the global music business.
“Ruth’s mellifluous vocals are utterly captivating, transporting the listener on a gently terrifying journey into the darkest part of their own psyche.” Narc Magazine
As an artist and activist, Newcastle’s alt-pop troubadour Ruth Lyon mixes home-made beats, mellow keys and an organic rhythm section to explore being an outsider with naked, visceral honesty; a sound instilled with rich melancholy but delivered with attitude. After treating us to her debut EP Nothing’s Perfect, and just in time for her US debut at SXSW, Ruth returns with her soulful new single ‘Black Hole’ – a dark, spacey banger, infused with groove, soul and generous choruses. The opening line “I had to pull it all apart, cos I see better in the dark” sets the mood perfectly for this powerful piece of work, intoxicating with its honesty and ethereal edge.
In 2020 Ruth cemented herself as one of the North East’s most important voices, when Sage Gateshead named her Artist-in-Residence. Over the course of the year Ruth released two singles, the evocative ‘Sink or Swim’ and ‘Somebody Else’, for which she received the PRS Women Make Music award and was named as BBC Intro in The North East & Yorkshire one to watch, and played her live debut at Latitude Festival in 2021.
In October last year, Ruth followed up with her debut EP ‘Nothing’s Perfect’. The lead single ’Motormouth’ received significant support from Spotify Editorial: Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds: POP and Salt as well as radio support at Radio 1 and 6music and almost constant rotation on BBC Introducing. On the back of the release, she has been invited to perform at SXSW 2022, in Austin Texas, this March.
Ruth says about her new song “Like all of us, I’ve had a tough time over the last few years, and at times have been sucked into whirlpools of anxiety, sadness, sometimes anger. But I drag people down with me, and it’s always those closest. And I never see it at the time. This song is a kind of therapy and acknowledgment of that – I’m taking responsibility. Musically I’m really enjoying the vibe of artists like Noga Erez, PinkPantheress and yeh, Billie Eillish. I wanted to take some of that and mix it with the more organic, classic songwriting that I’ve always loved – Carole King, Nina Simone. You know, the greats”
Ruth advocates on behalf of charities and organisations. She is an artist ambassador for Attitude Is Everything, a national charity that improves deaf and disabled people’s access to live music and she is an ambassador for Featured Artist Coalition – a non profit trade body that advocates on behalf of artists, and lobbies governments both domestically and abroad. Over the last year she has appeared on industry panels, parliamentary committees and international festivals, representing a voice of diversity and inclusion as the industry re-builds itself.
‘Black Hole’ will be released March 1st via Pink Lane Records.
March 11th-19th – Austin Texas, USA – SXSW Festival
May 1st – Co. Durham, UK – Northern Kin Festival
June 25th – Newcastle, UK – Generator Live Festival, Boiler Shop
Oct 20th – London, UK – Victoria Dalston
Oct 28th – York, UK – Fulford Arms
Oct 29th – Newcastle, UK – Cluny2
And here’s a link to when Ruth was one of our judges: