In a recent phone conversation, Tunstall, who opens for Toad the Wet Sprocket on Friday at Symphony Hall, said, “I’m just a terrible pop star.” I’m not really suited to be a pop star, but I’m a decent indie musician. Pop stands for popular. Perhaps the difference is in the motivation, the thing that makes you want to do it when you wake up. Fame and money were never my goals. Mine involved creating and playing.
Then, she added, “I have this really popular album that makes me a pop star.” I will always be appreciative of it. I had an incredible adventure as a result. It wasn’t me, though.
Credit: (KT Tunstall’s kind permission)
Credit: (KT Tunstall’s kind permission)
Tunstall suffered from the monotony of touring, performing the same songs night after night in identical-looking venues, and never having the opportunity to see the locations where she would perform. She therefore started to scale back, putting out albums every three or four years, traveling in support of them, and then taking a break to focus on other hobbies.
After relocating from Los Angeles to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Tunstall has written soundtracks for movies, children’s books, and musicals. Additionally, instead of traveling with a band, she can now perform solo acoustic tours.
“It’s fantastic,” she said. You feel so happy that you think you’re going to die. You can discover your craft and creativity in a variety of ways. T-shirts that read, “It feels like heaven,” should be manufactured for me.
The progressive loss of hearing in Tunstall’s left ear, which started in 2008, also hindered her progress. She lost her hearing ten years later.
She claimed that she became deaf midway through a tour and spent two weeks locked up in New York’s meatpacking district, fortunately with a view of the Hudson River. That relieved my extreme dizziness. The worst of it was that. I had the impression that I had been drinking two bottles of tequila nonstop.
According to Tunstall, finding out that her hearing would not return was startling. However, she claimed to have followed her doctor’s advise to go out and enjoy life.
She claimed that because I didn’t hear anything coming from my left side, I almost got run over five times. I performed at my first show two or three weeks later. It was the Vermont-based Killington Women’s Downhill Ski Championships. Everything went smoothly. It was good.
Tunstall’s ability to sustain a musical career was demonstrated by another performance in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I felt hopeful and confident because I knew in my head that I could perform as well as ever,” Tunstall remarked. Everything that anyone else can accomplish, but only in mono, I can do. Additionally, all the best records are in mono, according to my musical buddies.
Tunstall’s most recent solo album, Nut, isn’t in mono. It is a masterfully composed stereo ending to a trio of soul, body, and mind-based albums. Along with roughly ten of her most well-known songs, she performed Nut in its entirety during a band tour of the UK and Europe to introduce the song.
She claimed that playing Nut with the band was intriguing. The mind is the focus of Nut. It turned out to be the most emotional and touching of the three, even though I thought it could be the most nerdy. That was somewhat unexpected. People were listening to the music on an emotional level.
The first encore we performed was “Out of Touch.” According to Tunstall, “it’s my positive pandemic song, and” people were standing and applauding in a similar manner to Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. I was astonished.
The set list is anticipated to include a few Nut tracks as well as possibly some from Tunstall’s 2023 joint album Face To Face, which featured collaborations with Suzi Quatro.
“I have to make a careful decision,” she replied. I take tremendous pride in the fact that I have never published anything that I didn’t think was excellent. However, some songs are more suited for an acoustic, solo performance, while others are designed to shine in a recording studio.
Tunstall stated she will continue to bring out a band, depending on what the tour and her song set require, but she has discovered that performing solo acoustic is more enjoyable for her than performing with a band, regardless of the songs she picks.
“It’s funny,” she added, adding that people frequently believe performing solo is more difficult. However, it’s simpler. You have no obligations. It’s okay to make mistakes and incorporate them into the performance. Recently, I’ve been considering how fantastic it would be to embark on a tour using only a guitar. You run the risk of using them as a crutch when you have a band, loops, and everything. I want to go out where the song and my voice are the only things heard.
Concert Preview
Tunstall, KT
Friday at 7:30 p.m. Sixpence None the Richer, which is also on the bill, opens for Toad the Wet Sprocket. Tickets are limited and start at $76.95. 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta.aso.com.
