BLUE VALENTINES

Blue Valentines: The Tom Waits Songbook is a live performance project devoted to the rich, strange and cinematic world of Tom Waits. Built around his haunting lyrics and genre-bending compositions, the show brings to life songs that play like faded postcards from forgotten cities - stories of lost souls, flickering neon and fleeting grace.

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Tom Waits emerged in the early 1970s with a voice like gravel and a poet’s soul. His early work was drenched in jazz, blues and lounge melancholy. Over time, it grew darker, weirder and more theatrical - blending found sounds, carnival bark, beat poetry and the dissonance of real life. His lyrics conjure up alleyways, boxcars, dreamers and drunks. His music is equally fearless - veering from tender ballads to percussive chaos.

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This show doesn’t attempt to mimic Tom Waits' unmistakable voice or stage persona. Instead, it offers a deep and thoughtful interpretation of the songwriting itself - exploring the emotion, wit and craft behind the material. It’s an homage to the songs and the stories they tell.

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The setlist draws from across Waits’ vast discography - from his intimate debut Closing Time through to the raw spiritual terrain of Mule Variations. Songs are chosen for their character, their imagery and their power to land differently in a live setting, with space for varying arrangements and moods.

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The project began when Victor Stranges was auditioning musicians for his original band, Victor Stranges & The Methinks. He met keyboardist Mike Dupp, and after playing through a few songs, conversation turned to their shared love of Randy Newman - and then, inevitably, Tom Waits. They found instant creative common ground. A Waits-inspired show was discussed and eventually planned for 2020, only to be postponed by the pandemic. Years later, with a new band assembled but the original vision intact, the idea has finally taken form.