Singer and saxophonist Venn Smyth - Showreel 2024

Contact: vennsmyth@gmail.com
Socials: @vennsmyth

Bringing showmanship, energy, emotion and fun, Venn Smyth is the kilted singer and saxophonist that you need this year! Available for festivals, events, Prides, residencies and cruise shows. He performs a wide selection of covers as well as original pop music.

2023 performances
London Pride's Got Talent semifinalist
Brighton's Voice of Broadway finalist
Babel Art House, London
Broadway, Brighton
Forest Gate Pride, London
Green Man Festival, Wales
Phoenix Arts Club, London
Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London
RedEye, London
Slay, Glasgow
Shrub, Edinburgh
The Glory, London
The Village, London

2023 music
Debut album ‘Master of Disguise’ released
Played on GlitterBeam LGBT+ radio
Played on ENRG student radio
25, 390 Spotify streams
170 playlist adds
Listeners in 67 countries
Acoustic EPs released on Bandcamp

Bio
The unashamedly pop Venn Smyth writes songs that dance around subjects important to him. These include identity, equality, mental health and finding your voice. His brand of queer pop blends synth, sax, ballads and bops, and has earned its place at No.1 on the LGBTQ Music Chart more than once.

He built a following online whilst supporting fellow queer music makers across the globe with his ‘Venn’s Quop’ playlist and podcast. This has been translated into real life as he takes his energetic yet heartfelt performances to venues in London and beyond. The Glory, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Phoenix Arts Club and Green Man Festival have hosted Venn, and a UK tour celebrated his debut full length album ‘Master of Disguise’. 2023 saw him reach the finals of Brighton’s Voice of Broadway and the semifinals of London’s Pride’s Got Talent competitions.

‘Master of Disguise’ was recorded in London and Deal with gold and platinum record certified songwriter, producer and mixing engineer, Jack Gourlay. He also worked with Kwame Kwaten’s Ferocious Talent company to kick-start this pop project.

Coming from rural Scotland, Venn found himself captivated by music from an early age. He studied Classical Music at Edinburgh Napier University, with saxophone and composition as his focus. He found further inspiration in the eclectic world of Sufjan Stevens, Laura Marling and Erasure to name but a few. After graduating he performed in duo The Minister’s Cat with guitarist Ali Tod, who has gone on to perform with Rodrigo y Gabriela and Brandi Carlile. He was also a saxophonist with Banyuls Saxophone Quartet, performing in Scotland and Spain. Venn hosted successful open mic nights in both Edinburgh and London, and alongside performing and writing, managed large-scale youth music projects with Studio 3 Arts and the National Orchestra for All. He also established an LGBTQ+ Youth Choir in partnership with the London Gay Men’s Chorus. He led the group to write and record original music, including a performance which was headlined by Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic. He has composed for film and charity projects. In 2016 he was asked to write a piece for artist Jordan McKenzie’s Shame Chorus project alongside composers such as Jessica Curry and Leo Chadburn, as well as iconic songwriter Billy Bragg.

Ben Howell who found fame with his mash-up of the BBC News Theme and Dua Lipa’s ‘Hallucinate’, remixed his song ‘Burn Me’ which was featured on Spotify’s Pride playlist. Venn is on the roster for Queenz Sounds who manage and support LGBTQ+ musicians, and he performed at their festival in Glasgow at Slay on 21 October 2023 to close his UK tour.

“Real hints of Elton John… such a powerful voice” Track by Track podcast

“A superb songwriter” Miles Elliot, judge of Voice of Broadway and Pride’s Got Talent

“(Burn Me) Reminiscent of the songs Justin Vivian Bond would sing. Reminded me of Short Bus, Rufus Wainwright, Jake Shears. Very downtown NYC queer feel about it” Jonny Woo, Drag Artist and owner of The Glory

“(Sunrise) A gorgeous contemporary dancefloor anthem tackling the hard-hitting theme of grief, whilst retaining an optimistic mood through its shimmering production” Culture Fix blog

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