We’re back at The Castle Hotel after a few months away to present you with a very special intimate show to see in the summer.

We first caught ALA.NI at Night & Day Cafe last year supporting Ibeyi, and instantly fell in love with her music. She doesn’t use the weapons other singers do to conquer her audience. Neither power nor force, although she’s brave enough to stand, alone, courageously exposing herself in all her difference and uniqueness.

ALA.NI has the kind of voice that appears only once in a blue moon. Silky, warm, melancholic, modulated, powerful. The voice of a perfectly trained soprano, beautifully altered by the smoky touch of a jazz diva.

Learning to dance, sing at act at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, just like Amy Winehouse did, ALA.NI then went on to build a career for herself, paving her way singing backing vocals for the likes of Damon Albarn and Mary J. Blige, before embarking on her own journey.

With her debut LP, ‘You & I’ due for release in early June, this is not one to miss. ALA.NI is a truly remarkable performer.

Joining ALA.NI this evening will be Manchester’s own Charlotte Cannon. Hinting at old jazz artists like Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone; evocative and sultry while also drenched in the idiosyncrasy and outlandishness of artists like Tom Waits and Bjork.