Be first to hear Jake Bugg's new album tracks at Peterborough gig

​Nottingham’s Jake, who found stardom 12 years ago with his debut album which spawned the instantly recognisable guitar-driven Lightning Bolt and Trouble Town, has a new album out this year – and his Peterborough audience on March 6 will be among the first to hear the new material.

“I like playing live but haven't done a show this year yet," says Jake, whose Your Town tour opens on March 5 (15 dates at smaller venues, bringing live music back to the heart of communities).

“Last year was a nice balance. I had a few shows but was in the studio in between. But I enjoy it and it is great to be up there and singing for the audience.

“We played a few festivals in towns that we hadn't really been to before and got great crowd reaction so we thought why don't we make a tour of it and go to places we don't really go.”

The Peterborough gig will see Jake play both electric and acoustic sets, and he points out: “I have just pretty much done my sixth album now and I’m struggling to fit in all the songs that I want to. So doing an extra acoustic set allows me to put a few extra tunes in that I perhaps wouldn't usually get chance to normally.

“And its always great to have a new record ready to go,” he says, “and I am excited to have some new stuff to play live for people at the shows, really excited about it. It is a little bit of a nod back to some of the older records in some ways.

“It’s not got a name yet (the new album) and it’s probably out later this year. It’s just getting finished as we speak. But the songs will be ready to play at the shows and that is always a good indicator – playing the songs live, to get an idea of what your audience thinks.”

He was still a teenager when his “Jake Bugg” album dropped to great acclaim, so how did he deal with it?

“It was pretty unexpected,” he says. “It was something I dreamed of, and wanted to achieve from a very young age, I knew it was something I would be doing. But i didn't know it would be at the level, so to get there so young was amazing.

“One of the things that helped was that when the first album did come out, and there was a little bit of noise about it, I went over to the US and toured with Noel Gallagher. It was like starting over again where nobody knew me and it helped me get away from it all.”

Incidentally he will be touring with Liam Gallagher and John Squires with dates that fit around his own tour starting in March.

So what can he tell us about the new album?

“I always try and do something a little bit different for each album. I think as a writer and musician the journey is important and I feel it is something I have to do sometimes.

“I feel with this new record I have gone back to the DNA I possessed on the first couple of records, so I am really excited about what people think and little bit nervous. It is important to experiment but also important not to lose your identity.”

And what does he make of the success of Trouble Town as the theme song of BBC1 hit Happy Valley – something he agreed to never having seen the show?

“When people come up to me and say they love that song from Happy Valley it kind of catches me off guard,” he says. “It has taken on a life of its own now and breathed a bit of new life into an older song.

“It introduces the song not just to new audience but it gives it a different perspective when it is attached to something as cool as that. I am very happy it became part of it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​"

Tickets for the Peterborough show on March 6 are available at https://cresset.ticketsolve.com/