Jools Holland welcomes Arlo Parks to his home

Thank goodness for Jools Holland.

The live music industry (and the arts world in general) has been in an almighty mess over the past 12 months or so.

But despite many live venues being forced to keep their doors closed, Jools has ensured that we’ve been able to hear some of the world greatest musicians doing what they do best.

Perhaps as a result of the lack of actual live gigs to attend, the previous series of Later… (the 56th if you’re still counting) was one of the most successful yet, and saw the show achieve it’s highest average audience figures in over 10 years.

The run featured debuts from Greentea Peng, Working Men’s Club, Koffee, For Those I Love, Joesef and The Lathums, along with performances by household names like Laura Mvula, Dry Cleaning, Moses Boyd, Rag’n’Bone Man, Enny and Peggy Seeger. Then, on New Year’s Eve 2020, Jools’ Annual Hootenanny brought us new and archive performances from artists including Celeste, Róisín Murphy and Ella Eyre, and attracted a whopping 4.56 million viewers – the highest audience for the show on record.

With the challenging times continuing for a while yet, Jools is looking to keep viewers entertained and build on the show’s recent success with a brand-new six-part series.

In tonight’s first edition, filmed at Jools’ creative home – his unique south London recording studio – the Piano Man welcomes one of this year’s most hotly tipped artists, Hammersmith-born singer-songwriter and poet Arlo Parks. She will perform a track from her critically acclaimed album Collapsed In Sunbeams.

Parks largely co-wrote this beautiful collection of songs and verse with Gianluca Buccellati, and in it she touches on themes of mental health and sexuality.

Arlo, whose Artist In Residence series on 6 Music is available on BBC Sounds, will also discuss her musical journey, loves and influences, illustrated by classic clips from the Later… archive. Plus, there will be unique performances this series, created especially for Later, from both established artists and emerging musicians, continuing the eclectic mix the show is famed for.

Tonight sees the much-awaited return of Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon, with an exclusive performance from the band’s studio in Nashville. The global headline outfit, composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill with their cousin Matthew Followill, made their TV debut on the show in 2003.

Tonight they perform The Bandit from their forthcoming eighth album, When You See Yourself, set for release next month.

The show also features Nottingham’s polemical frontman Jason Williamson and dexterous producer Andrew Fearn aka electronic punk duo Sleaford Mods.

They will provide a specially shot performance of their new single, Mork n Mindy, featuring newcomer Billy Nomates.

Williamson has described the track as “the sound of the central heating and the dying smells of Sunday dinner in a house on an estate in 1982”.

You can get that will go down a treat with this show eponymous host.

Around that time, Jools was making his debut on Channel 4’s The Tube, a showcase for many emerging bands.

And thankfully for music lovers everywhere, he’s been making groundbreaking television ever since.

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