Emily Portman & Friends
Surreal. Beguiling. A sprinkling of magic.
Award-winning folk singer and songwriter Emily Portman and friends take to the road this September. They’ll be performing material from her acclaimed new album Dominion of Spells and songs from across her celebrated catalogue.
Dominion of Spells charts a heroine’s midlife journey through dark woods in search of wonder. Drawing on ballads and folktales, Portman weaves lived experience with rich mythic imagery, exploring motherhood, burnout, mental health, misogyny, creativity and transformation.
Portman tours with acclaimed guitarist Louis Campbell and Lucy Revis (Before Breakfast) on cello and vocals, creating a rich yet understated sound world of unaffected vocals, banjo, piano, crystalline harmonies and strings.
Following the fraudulent release of AI-generated recordings falsely issued under her name, Dominion of Spells stands as a reaffirmation of human creativity.
Expect deft musicianship, beguiling harmonies, and vivid storytelling: an evening entering a mythic realm where struggle becomes transformation and wonder is found through song.
Need to know
Venue: Sage Two Theatre Layout
Price: £22.30
Stage Times: Announced closer to show time.
Age: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
What they say
‘one of the new British folk scene’s most beguiling presences’
– Uncut
‘Portman’s sure command of ancient folklore, spellcraft and balladry turns them into living forces and entities.’
– Songlines on Dominion of Spells
‘A really great listen… sonically full of interesting little details’
– Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2, on Dominion of Spells
About Emily Portman
Emily Portman’s an award-winning singer and songwriter with a passion for traditional songs. She’s toured widely for over 15 years as a band leader, with The Furrow Collective, the folk chart-topping Sea Song Sessions, and in a duo with Leveret’s Rob Harbron. Emily was awarded a BBC Folk Award for Best Original Song and has released four critically acclaimed albums of original songs that recast old ballads and fairytales into new shapes.
The Dominion of Spells puts Emily’s songwriting back into the spotlight in an album that delights. Its title is derived from a phrase coined by William Harvey, physician to King James I, rooted in the ancient belief that women’s ‘wandering wombs’ moved around their bodies, causing illness, hysteria, and witchcraft. Portman reclaims and transforms it. Her Dominion of Spells is a realm of wonder, equality, and liberation, where women’s pain is believed, their bodies understood, and their voices heard.
