LA Salami, Pub Singer & JJ Sterry — Strummerville on Sea

This Halloween, Cutting Teeth brings Strummerville On Sea to The Piper. A night of wandering souls, strange stories, bruised romance and songs built to outlive the people who wrote them. L.A. Salami has spent the last decade carving out a place entirely his own. A London-born songwriter with a restless, poetic voice, his music pulls from folk, blues, soul and the great tradition of the travelling troubadour, while refusing to sit comfortably inside any one of them. His songs are observational, political, romantic and deeply human, delivered with the kind of conviction that makes a room go quiet. From intimate beginnings to international stages and tours alongside artists including Michael Kiwanuka and Lianne La Havas, Salami has built a reputation as one of the UK’s most distinctive contemporary songwriters. At The Piper, he headlines a bill built around artists who share that same instinct: tell the story, play the song and leave something behind Pub Singer is the new incarnation of Salford-born songwriter Kid Cruise, returning with a more introspective, stripped-back and quietly rebellious approach to songwriting. After stepping away from music for a period of self-reflection, Pub Singer emerged as a new character, less concerned with the noise around music and more interested in simply writing good songs. There’s something wonderfully unpolished and human about it; the kind of music that feels like it could have been written at the bar, then followed you home. JJ Sterry brings his distinctive solo sound to Strummerville On Sea. Known for his years as vocalist and songwriter with legendary post-punk outfit Gang of Four, Sterry’s solo work takes a very different path, drawing on the English Folk Revival of the late ’60s and influences including John Martyn, Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Intimate, exploratory and beautifully unclassifiable, his upcoming debut album We Are Your New Friends finds Sterry embracing a more personal and richly textured side of his songwriting. Three artists. One room. No gimmicks. Just songs, stories, guitars and whatever happens when you put them all in the same place. No costumes required. Just turn up and bring your ears.