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Atlantic recording artist Paolo Nutini has announced that, due to popular demand, a number of shows on his first full-fledged tour of North America have been upscaled to larger venues. In addition, the Scotland-born singer/songwriter – whose just-released album, “THESE STREETS,” debuted in the top 50 on the Billboard 200 album chart – will be among the superstar lineup at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, slated for June 14-17 in Manchester, Tennessee.
The sold-out March dates see Nutini and his band moving to bigger rooms across the country (see attached itinerary). Other scheduled shows on the tour include a March 17th trip to Austin, Texas’ South By Southwest to play Esquire magazine’s SXSW07 showcase alongside Iggy & the Stooges, Spoon, and Kings of Leon.
Upon the trek’s conclusion – set for March 29th at Vancouver’s Richards on Richards – Paolo will return to the UK for his biggest headlining tour to date. Already sold out, the schedule will conclude with a hugely anticipated four-night stand in Nutini’s home country, spanning April 30th to May 3rd at Glasgow’s Carling Academy.
Here in America, “New Shoes,” the buoyant first single from “THESE STREETS,” is currently blowing up at Triple A radio. The track – which was recently iTunes’ “Single of the Week” – is now #1 at the format, while also entering the top 40 at Hot AC outlets nationwide. What’s more, Paolo has been named to the coveted “You Oughta Know” program on VH1, where the “New Shoes” video is now in rotation. Previous VH1 YOK artists include KT Tunstall, Corrine Bailey Rae, the Fray, and Regina Spektor.
Next month will also see the 20-year-old tunesmith performing live on two high-profile TV programs, including NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 22nd and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 23rd. Paolo has already made a number of U.S. TV appearances to promote “THESE STREETS,” including visits to NBC’s Today and Late Show with Conan O’Brien, plus two performances on his fellow Scotsman Craig Ferguson’s nightly CBS talker, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Furthermore, Nutini’s songs have been featured in such network series as NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, CBS’s CSI: Miami, and ABC’s What About Brian and Men In Trees.
Released January 30th, “THESE STREETS” is already shaping up as the first full-fledged critical smash of the New Year. Both People and USA Today awarded the album three-and-a-half stars, with the latter hailing “the breadth of talent (Nutini) shows…a series of thoughtful, evocative tunes that defy easy characterization.” The New York Daily News noted that “voices like Nutini’s come around just a few times in a generation.”
In addition, the New York Times’ Jon Pareles offered high praise for Paolo’s recent sold out-show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. “(Nutini’s voice is) cracked and raspy, with the edge of David Gray, the quavers of Jeff Buckley, and a streak of the blues. His phrasing is elastic and unpredictable; he jumps into lines after the beat and stretches them with syncopated moans…The songs take on a precocious gravity.”
Born and raised in Paisley, Scotland, Nutini has quickly become a true star in the UK, where he was recently received a “Best Male Solo Artist” nomination from the annual Brit Awards and has sold over a million copies throughout Europe. Produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Ray LaMontagne, Badly Drawn Boy), “THESE STREETS” made a spectacular top 3 chart entry upon its July 2006 release, fueled by reams of critical celebration and the undeniable power of Paolo’s impassioned blue-eyed soul.
Hailed by Billboard as one of their “Five To Watch,” and named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 Artists To Watch 2006,” Nutini released his North American debut EP, “THE LIVE SESSIONS,” last September to instant rave reviews, including a declaration from the New York Daily News’ Jim Farber naming Paolo “the most thrilling new singer of the season.”
- Press Release
Discography
ALBUMS
These Streets
SINGLES
* Last Request
* New Shoes
Photos
Bio
Born and raised in Paisley, Scotland, Paolo Nutini is a 19-year-old singer/ songwriter who has been blessed with a soulful, passionate voice and the natural gift of being able to tell a story in a song. Like many of the truly inspired British vocalists who have come before him, Nutini has absorbed the soul of the great American R&B singers and channeled it into something original, captivating, and dynamic.
Paolo’s full-length Atlantic debut, “THESE STREETS,” was an instant sensation upon its arrival in the U.K. earlier this year, making a spectacular top 3 chart entry amidst a flurry of critical acclaim. Songs such the stirring first single, “Last Request,” and the anthemic title track reveal Nutini to be an artist who knows an awful lot about the vicissitudes of life and love, with a unique gift for expressing the attitudes and experiences of someone both of his age and well beyond it.
“Basically, the album is an autobiographical journey, “ he says, “a diary if you like, of my last three years.”
Despite their Italian name, the Nutini family has lived in Paisley, Scotland for at least four generations. Paolo’s great-grandfather opened the fish and chip shop in Paisley, which his parents now run. His musical education began with his late grandfather, who introduced him to Scottish folk songs as well as a wide range of other styles.
“He was a big music lover, my Nonno,” Nutini says. “He loved boogie woogie piano, he adored opera, and it was him that really encouraged me to sing. He always wanted somebody in the family to make music their living. He’s not around to see it, unfortunately, but I’m doing just what he wanted, and I'm doing it in his honor.”
Exposure to classic R&B stars like the Drifters and Ray Charles came via his dad and an auntie’s record collection, while his own post-adolescent explorations brought him to the work of such troubadours as John Martyn and Van Morrison. Nutini first started singing publicly in his school choir, and though the choir’s choice of songs were hardly his favorites, one teacher quickly spotted his prodigious talent and guided the young singer through a more soulful repertoire.
“Initially, I’d wanted to be a football player," Nutini recalls, “specifically a goalkeeper. But the more I sang, the more I realized it was just something I could do. I was hardly going to walk away from that, was I?”
At 16, Nutini hit the road with a friend’s band, acting as roadie, T-shirt vendor, and occasional on-stage support act. From there, the die was cast – Paolo quit school in Glasgow and moved to London, where he started performing regularly at clubs around town. His bold voice and provocative songs created an instant buzz. Nutini signed to Atlantic Records shortly after his 18th birthday and immediately headed north to Liverpool to work on his debut album with renowned producer Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Ray LaMontagne, Badly Drawn Boy).
The result of their labors, dubbed “THESE STREETS,” follows Paolo’s departure from his beloved Paisley to his arrival in sprawling London – as chronicled in the title track's aching lament, Where it takes you about an hour to cross the road/Just to stumble across another poor old soul. Of course, many of the songs tell of Nutini’s already rich romantic life, such as “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty,” about an older woman he met at London’s famed 12 Bar.
“She was 23, so I told her I was 22 – and she believed me,” Paolo grins. “In fact, I was only 18.”
In July, Nutini’s moving first single, “Last Request,” made a stunning top five debut on the British charts. “THESE STREETS” followed, debuting at #3 on the album chart, receiving gold certification less than two weeks later, and was recently certified platinum. In addition to its popular success, the album received a bounty of critical praise. Uncut Magazine awarded “THESE STREETS” four-out-of-five stars, noting that “For once, comparisons with the great Al Green are not entirely far-fetched.” The Observer hailed Nutini as having “a talent for elegant, melodic songwriting and an admirable willingness to vary the tempo.” And the U.S. is already starting to come on board, with Rolling Stone just naming Paolo as one of its “10 Artists To Watch 2006” and across-the-board praise for the “LIVE SESSIONS” EP, the collection of intimate live performances which heralded the domestic release of “THESE STREETS.”
A truly charismatic live performer, Nutini has supported such superstars as Paul Weller and the Rolling Stones, in addition to making sensational TV appearances on Top of the Pops and Later with Jools Holland. In May 2006, Paolo appeared at the New York Pops Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall at the personal request of the evening's honoree – Atlantic Records Founding Chairman Ahmet Ertegun. In July, Nutini brought the house down during a special tribute to Ertegun and Atlantic Records at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The only new artist on the bill, Nutini shared
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