Benjamin Clementine announces fall U.S. tour dates; debut album ‘At Least For Now’ out now on Capitol Records

We first introduced you to Benjamin Clementine early this July, when he announced the release date for his debut album “At Least For Now” on Capitol Records. There isn’t much that can be said about the impact this voice is having on music history. Once in a while there is something or someone that defies a simple description and yet “utterly amazing” is simply perfect.

Clementine’s ability to lock in with his listener from his first utterance to the last. He leaves you leaning forward hoping its not applause time because you greedily want more from him!

Some lucky fans are going to have an exceptional music adventure as Clementine, touted by Rolling Stone as one of their “New Artists You Need to Know” brings his live act to the United States as we end an amazing musical summer.

The acclaimed London-born, Paris-based singer, songwriter and pianist Benjamin Clementine has announced Fall U.S. tour dates in support of his stunning debut album At Least For Now, which was released this summer on Capitol Records. Following his buzzed about debut U.S. performances in New York and Los Angeles this Spring, Clementine will return to NYC and LA, as well as making debuts in Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco. Clementine has sold-out shows across Europe, and played festivals this summer including the Björk-curated main stage at Wilderness Festival and David Byrne’s Meltdown Festival.

“A startlingly unique voice takes art pop into new corners” declared NPR Music, adding that “Clementine is nothing if not audacious on At Least For Now.” The New York Times deemed the album “his declaration of selfhood,” describing Clementine’s voice as a “frequently stunning instrument, a bladelike tenor that can swoop into either a clarion cry or a guttural scowl.”

BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE – U.S. TOUR DATES

October 14 – Wolftrap – Washington DC

October 15 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY

October 19 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL

October 20 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

October 22 – Bimbo’s – San Francisco, CA

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Benjamin Clementine has packed a lot into his 26 years: heartbreak, homelessness, and reinvention all came before reaching cult status in Paris and eventually receiving the “Best New Act” honors at 2015’s Les Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the GRAMMY Awards. Raised in a strict religious household in the tough Edmonton section of London, Benjamin started to teach himself the keyboard at age 11, stumbling upon classical rather than contemporary pop; a sparse piano solo by Erik Satie in particular transformed the way he played. At 16 years old, in a rare moment of permitted TV watching, he caught New York avant-gardists Antony and the Johnsons performing the disarmingly naked “Hope There’s Someone” on the BBC. “I was confused, scared…it was another world,” says Clementine. “When it finished, I went back upstairs to my piano and started playing chords.”

Inspired by figures like Leonard Cohen—and with no emotional or employment ties to keep him in London—Benjamin left for Paris at age 20; sleeping rough, working in kitchens and busking out of economic necessity. First in the corridors of the Place de Clichy station and then on the metro, he built his voice and refined his craft as he made enough money to move first to a hostel and then into a room of his own. Having eventually returned to his hometown of London, word spread from across the continent to the point where Benjamin Clementine’s U.K. live debut took place on national TV when he played two songs on Later…With Jools Holland. At 6 ft 3—dressed in his now-trademark overcoat and bare-feet—Clementine cut an extraordinary, puzzling presence, causing a small storm on Twitter, and Paul McCartney amongst the first to congratulate Clementine on an “amazing” performance.

U.S. audiences have only recently been introduced to Benjamin’s intimate live performances which have tugged at heartstrings and sent shivers down spines of European concertgoers for more than two years now. Rolling Stone named Clementine one of their New Artists You Need to Know, evocatively describing his unique sound as “Nina Simone’s brother steps into an elegant French café, sits down at the piano and tears open a vein.” Clementine has been featured in the pages of The Wall Street Journal and interviewed on NPR Weekend Edition. At Least For Now is available on iTunes and Amazon. Watch the videos for “London,” Nemesis,” and “Condolence.”

Also, check out this video highlight mix on Clementine compiled by Deezer:

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Tags: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.