The Boo Hewerdine / Yvonne Lyon project, Things Found In Books, heads out on tour in May. All the details here.

Things Found In Books – Boo Hewerdine & Yvonne Lyon on tour May 2026

This May, two of the UK’s most respected singer-songwriters, Boo Hewerdine and Yvonne Lyon, bring their acclaimed project Things Found In Books on tour across the UK – a series of intimate performances that transform forgotten fragments of people’s lives into song.

The project began in the second-hand bookshop at Culzean Castle, where a noticeboard displays items discovered inside donated books: letters, photographs, postcards, receipts – traces of lives once held quietly between the pages. Drawn to the emotional weight of these objects, Hewerdine and Lyon began writing songs in response, weaving these found stories with their own.

The result is Things Found In Books: a deeply human collection of songs exploring memory, loss, connection and the invisible threads between strangers.

COMING TO LIFE

On stage, the duo bring these stories vividly to life, combining song and spoken word in performances that are intimate, atmospheric and quietly powerful. Each night becomes something unique, shaped by the room and the audience within it.

Audiences are also invited to bring along their own “things found in books” – small objects with stories attached –  adding a living, participatory layer to the tour. In 2025 people brought tickets, letters, drawings, and even three separate incidents of bacon (courtesy of three librarians in different towns!). The Story Table is a focal point, turning each gig into a unique communal experience.

The May tour takes in venues across England and Scotland, from arts centres and libraries to small listening rooms known for their attentive audiences.

UK TOUR DATES – MAY 2026

1 May – Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford
2 May – Folk at the Froize, Chillesford (Suffolk)
3 May – The Maltings, Wells-next-the-Sea
5 May – The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
6 May – The Witham, Barnard Castle
7 May – Prohibition Studios, Liverpool
8 May – The Book Tree, Pickering
9 May – Water Rats, London
10 May – The Star Inn, Guildford
12 May – The Music Workshop, Folkestone
16 May – Crosskeys Hall (St Peter’s Church), Cullercoats
19 May – Ruskin Mill, Nailsworth
21 May – The Railway Inn, Winchester
22 May – Chidham Village Hall, West Sussex
23 May – Wooler Library, Wooler
24 May – Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
29 May – University Library, Stirling
31 May – The Watershed, Slaithwaite (Huddersfield)

https://www.thingsfoundinbooks.com/events

Boo Hewerdine is an Ivor Novello Award-nominated songwriter and one of the UK’s most celebrated lyricists, best known for writing Patience Of Angels, a worldwide hit for Eddi Reader. Yvonne Lyon is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most distinctive contemporary folk voices, with ten solo albums to her name and a reputation for songwriting of rare sensitivity and depth. Together, they create work that feels both timeless and immediate –  songs that uncover the extraordinary within the everyday.

At The Barrier: Facebook/ X / Instagram