Joan As Police Woman is coming to Wylam Brewery and it’s not to drink beer (although she may do some of that given the quality of their booze). Hooray!

Throughout her entire career, Joan As Police Woman (not her real name) has been unrepentantly unclassifiable. She’d previously been in bands such as Black Beetle and Antony and the Johnsons (she played on their astonishing, Mercury Prize winning, ‘I Am a Bird Now’), but when she struck out as a solo artist, people really started paying attention. She has described her stuff as sounding like “old Al Green records”, and they do have plenty of soul – echoes of Nina Simone there too – but she’s never been afraid to pull in elements of the underground. Think Sonic Youth or Bad Brains. Her latest album, last year’s ‘The Solution is Restless’, featured elements of dub, jazz and funk, as well as much hypnotic Moog action and, of course, her smoky vocals. It all made for an intoxicating listen, and cemented JAPW’s status as one of the most compelling songwriters working today. Miss her and miss out. DP

Joan As Police Woman, Sunday 26 June, Wylam Brewery, Newcastle, 7pm, £24.75. 

wylambrewery.co.uk