A native of rural East Sussex, Rory Graham released his first EP, ‘Wolves’, a nine track mini masterpiece, from which three tracks featured in this fantastic show at Dreamland, Margate. He did however, rise to prominence under the Rag’n’Bone Man moniker in 2016 with the release of ‘Human’; showcasing a characteristic blend of traditional Blues and Hip Hop and introducing the world to his powerfully deep baritone voice.

Having won the 2017 BRIT’s ‘British Breakthrough Act’ and receiving the BRIT’s ‘Critics’ Choice Award’ in the same year, Graham cemented his success with critics, following the record-breaking release of his 4x platinum #1 album of the same name, with a plethora of international accolades, and a further BRIT Award for ‘Best Single of the Year’, with the title track in 2018.
Rory began collecting his dedicated fan base incredibly early on in his career; a fan base that has continued to grow and sell out tours around the globe. Since his debut album, Rag’n’Bone Man has also collaborated with international artists including Gorillaz (The Apprentice), Logic (Broken People), Calvin Harris (Giant) and most recently with Pink, who joined him on the stunning single, ‘Anywhere Away From Here’, from his latest album, ‘Life By Misadventure’.

‘Life by Misadventure’, Graham’s second #1 album with Columbia Records that came out in May 2021 that spent seven weeks in the Top 10, is the culmination of more than a year spent writing and working with some of music’s true greats in London and Nashville. In Graham’s performance, there was a renewed sense of purpose and an entirely new energy in singles such as ‘All You Ever Wanted’, ‘Anywhere Away From Here’, ‘Alone’ and ‘Crossfire’.

Rag’n’Bone Man has an endearing charm and a voice that any artist would kill for, he rips effortlessly through all the aforementioned hits proving what a star he is. The songs are all great, with the two new efforts fitting smoothly in and being very well received by the audience (making the forthcoming album a highly anticipated affair!). Indeed, he could sing the menu down at one of Margate's local fish’n’chip shops and sell a million plus copies.

The show had a sublime flow to it meaning it seemed to fly by, the band were excellent throughout and the crowd happily sung along, familiar with every nuance and lyric, even joining in with new tunes after a couple of verses - but one voice mattered and listening to that on this warm night was an utter joy.

The show at Dreamland displayed sunny Margate at it’s very best, with many shows to follow due to the granting of a new premises licence in February, doubling the number of outdoor events that can be held there this year. Check out their website www.dreamland.co.uk/whats-on for more information.

Les Linyard

Setlist:

Wolves
Time Will Only Tell
Skin
Sorry For My Broken Heart
All You Ever Wanted
Alone
Changing Of The Guard
Grace
Bitter End
Guilty
Chokehold
Anywhere Away From Here
As You Are
Be The Man
Crossfire
Human
Hell Yeah
Giant