Eliza Marshall – Stepping out solo with New Birth at The Harrison, London – Tuesday 20th May 2025

Promoted by Folk & Roots

“This year is full of my music!”

With this declaration, Eliza Marshall opened a spellbinding solo set at The Harrison – previewing her upcoming debut EP New Birth (released by Real World X) and a couple of tracks from her debut solo album, Eternal Birth, due out this Autumn. Known for her work with Peter Gabriel, Ranagri, and countless others, this performance marked a bold and vulnerable step into her own artistic spotlight.

After decades of performing alongside others – harpists, cellists, full orchestras – many of whom envied the lightness of carrying ‘only a flute’, Eliza now steps onto the stage surrounded by a striking array: flutes of every kind, a balafon, a djembe, a guitar, and, perhaps most importantly, her “feisty loop pedal,” which allows her to build entire sonic landscapes live.

LISTEN AND ENTER

She invited us not just to listen, but to enter. To close our eyes. To drift off and drop in. And then, unexpectedly – to join in. Harmonies rose from the audience, chants found their way into the room like breath.

In First Light, we were transported to early morning Kenya – the sound of cicadas rising, the first eyes opening –  as Eliza layered a natural soundscape until the venue felt alive with dawn. Our Times offered a moment of deep reflection, asking us to consider those we share this beautiful, broken world with – both the gratitude and the grief.

Atmospheric Kenya morphed into the rhythms of Senegal in Interconnectedness, a breathy intro giving way to looped percussion and melody, with the balafon floating beautifully above.

“I’d like you all to be dancing!” Eliza said. And we were (our spirits were).

NOT JUST SONGS…

Interwoven through the music was spoken word – by Thomas Hardy, by Eliza herself – and reflections on a book she had found inspirational: The Mother Tree, adding further depth to the evening’s themes of nature, legacy, and renewal. Whether through her own writing or her improvisations, Eliza gave us not just songs, but offerings.

This was a concert – and it was also an invitation.
–  to honour our roots.
–  to move toward openness.
–  to rediscover beauty.

And to meet the ‘New Birth’ of a  “new” Eliza – a force stepping into her own light.

The New Birth EP , released on 23rd May, was recorded at Real World Studios, England and Dakar, Senegal with world class musicians from Senegal and The Gambia (Ady Thioune and Ansumana Suso) and the UK (Andrew Morgan and Dònal Rogers), and production from Ivor Novello recipient Graeme Pleeth. 

Thanks to Katie Whitehouse for the insight into the show.

Eliza Marshall online: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / Youtube

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