Grace Petrie

at Irish Centre, Leeds
From £16.50
Includes booking fee

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Forged in the political fires of a generation of Tory rule, Grace Petrie is a protest singer for the modern era.

Emerging onto the UK folk scene in 2010 with a handful of unpolished, low-fi acoustic songs,her razor-sharp lyricism and the unassuming charm of her performance style began to grab attention from the get-go. In 2011 The Guardian hailed her as a ?powerful songwriting voice?, and the legendary Tom Robinson invited her to perform in session on his BBC 6 Music show. Support slots with the likes of Billy Bragg, Robin Ince and Josie Long followed, and Petrie spent the 2010s amassing a genre-defying army of fans that crossed the boundaries of folk, punk, protest, LGBTQ+ activism and alternative comedy.

Proudly DIY, crowdfunding allowed her to independently release her first studio-recorded album in 2018?the critically acclaimed Queer As Folk. Comprising a raft of passion-infused folk anthems, the crowning jewel was breakout single Black Tie, for which she is still best known today. Written as an encouraging, hopefulmissive to her unhappy younger self, the song provided an emotive hymn to queer joy that was embraced by thousands of people both in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond and catapulted Petrie from fan favourite to mainstream attention, with glowing reviews in MOJO, the Observer and The New Yorker to name a few. Following a BBC Radio 2 live session for Jo Whiley, she was invited to open Frank Turner?s 12-date UK arena tour, requested as a support act in Europe for Emmy-winner Hannah Gadsby andbecame a regular musical guest on the smash hit comedy podcast The Guilty Feminist. Black Tie continues to draw new fans from the first listen and to date has accrued 1.2 million streams on Spotify.

Her latest release BUILD SOMETHING BETTER is a return to blistering form. A decade afterbeing hailed as ?a millennial?s Billy Bragg? (Huffington Post), the protest anthems pour out ofher as fierce as ever and production from folk-punk legend Frank Turner sees them elevated to the crowd barrier hollering anthems he is known for. Upon release, it smashed the UK top 30 and topped both the UK folk and UK download charts, cementing her status as one of Britain?s most beloved songwriters.

?An effervescent charm-bomb of a performer? - The New Yorker
?She?s the urgent, pulsing, compassionate talent this world desperately needs? The Observer
?It?s good have Grace back? ? Jo Whiley

Grace Petrie

Grace Petrie is a folk singer, songwriter and activist from Leicester, UK, she has been writing, recording and touring relentlessly ever since. Her unique takes on life, love and politics, and the warmth and wit with which they are delivered, have won over audiences everywhere, across the alternative, folk, political and comedy scenes She has racked up tour supports with Emmy the Great and Billy Bragg, and has also made her mark in the comedy scene supporting comedians Robin Ince and Josie Long. She’s appeared at Glastonbury four time at the invitation of Billy Bragg, as well as an eclectic genre-crossing mix of festivals Latitude, Musicport, Blissfields, Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Greenbelt and more including of course Cambridge Folk Festival. She has collaborated with some of the most respected names in folk, including Leon Rosselson, Roy Bailey and Peggy Seeger.

See Grace Petrie tour dates

rated excellent

Irish Centre

York Road
Leeds
LS9 9NT

Disabled Booking:
0113 248 0887

See all events at Irish Centre

Irish Centre

York Road
Leeds
LS9 9NT

Disabled Booking:
0113 248 0887

See all events at Irish Centre

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on Sat 24 May 2025