Kai Henderson to play The Black Isle Bar in May.
Singer, Multi-Instrumentalist and Songwriter Kai Henderson will reveal his highly anticipated debut album There Is Only Now on 11 May, celebrating the release with a free launch party on the same day in his hometown of Inverness. It will be the first ever live gig to take place at the Black Isle Bar and will add another string to the bow of the already popular venue.
Henderson grew up in Inverness and firmly established himself on the thriving Highland music scene in rock bands including DeLorean and Ursula’s Bikini, collaborating with well-known local musicians such as Terry B. Small, James MacKenzie, Iain McLaughlin, Blair Stewart, and Sara Bills. He has more recently performed at iconic London venues such as the Phoenix Artist Club and the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall, in addition to touring the UK and Europe and being featured on live TV to audiences of over 2 million.
Combining acoustic ballads with hard rock anthems, the album was recorded at The Crystal Attic in Henderson’s current base of London. It features performances from fellow Highlander, bassist Craig Macfadyen (Echo 20; The Discordian Trio) and Canadian chanteuse Véronique Piercy (Cascadia). It was co-produced and features arrangements by Psychedelic Tezzo and was Executive Produced by awardwinning audio producer Steve Henderson.
Henderson will showcase the entire album at the acoustic launch party, reuniting with Inverness bassist Roddie McLaggan (Foo Fixers) and also featuring London-based singer Helena King (SH00K, Periscope View, The Songwords) on backing vocals.
Henderson said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to finally get my songs out into the world with my debut album. There Is Only Now is a celebration of life – the ups, the downs, everything in between – and finding the right music for the right moment. Some of these songs were written in Inverness, some in New Zealand, some in the USA, some in London, over about 10 years – it’s definitely got scope! The album has been inspired by travel, philosophy, partying and, of course, love. I feel really privileged to be able to launch the album at The Black Isle Bar in my hometown – it’s a first for the bar, as well as me. I can’t wait to play these songs for new audiences and celebrate this milestone with them.”
We’ve been lucky enough to have a listen to the new album and it’s an impressive debut that should go down well with rock and metal fans in Inverness. There’s the soul of Lenny Kravitz and Living Colour mixed with the hard rock song-writing sensibilities of Alter Bridge and the hooks of the Foo Fighters.
His international travels have clearly influenced him and there’s a definite transatlantic feel to the record, although thankfully without the faux-American ‘rawk’ accent that some singers adopt. It’s taken a while to percolate but going by first listens, the time taken to record the album has done it no harm at all and we’re very much looking forward to hearing the live performance on Friday.
There Is Only Now will be available via Henderson’s website as a download and a physical CD, in addition to being available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify and other download and streaming services.
Details of the launch event at The Black Isle Brewery Bar can be found here.