On a sweltering July 24, 2025 evening, English singer-songwriter Tom Odell delivered an intimate showcase performance at Cherry Lane Theatre, offering a rare preview of songs from his forthcoming seventh studio album, A Wonderful Life (Urok), set for release on September 5, 2025.
The venue itself couldn’t have been more fitting. Cherry Lane Theatre, nestled on a quietly picturesque West Village street that feels like a postcard from New York’s bygone era, carries its own musical legacy—Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger once graced its stage long before achieving household recognition.
Odell, an Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year and BRITs Critics’ Choice Award winner, has been touring recently in support of Billie Eilish and The Lumineers. This autumn, he’ll launch his own tour throughout the UK, Europe, and North America, promoting an introspective album he wrote in stolen moments in 2024.
Following a gracious introduction by arts presenter Carla Sacks, Odell took his place at a magnificent Steinway piano positioned atop an expansive Persian carpet. Two monitors flanked the bench like faithful hounds as he surveyed the intimate space. “Too nice of a place for a ruffian like me,” he remarked with characteristic self-deprecation.
He opened with a heartfelt rendition of “Grow Old With Me,” a song that carries particular poignancy when stripped down to solo voice and piano, compared to the more jubilant choral arrangement of its official video.
Throughout the evening, Odell wove personal stories between songs, sharing intimate memories that illuminated his musical development. He spoke of childhood moments spent leaning against the family piano, feeling its vibrations penetrate his small body as his grandmother played. He recalled his mother’s ritual of sitting at the keyboard with her long, clicking fingernails, playing Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” repeatedly—a melody he later incorporated into his breakout hit “Another Love,” which has garnered over a billion streams on Spotify, making it the platform’s 22nd-most streamed song.
While the sound mix initially proved challenging—the phenomenally resonant Steinway competing with the brick walls’ reverb in the packed house—Odell’s engaging presence transcended any technical difficulties. After performing “Can’t Pretend” and “Black Friday,” he quipped slyly, “Bob Dylan once performed here, and now I’m performing here, so that makes me…[the next] Bob Dylan?”
What sets Odell apart in today’s musical landscape is his earnest commitment to lyrical depth—a refreshing counterpoint to the current wave of pop songs engineered for a viral 5-second clip on social media. His thoughtful approach was particularly evident when he addressed the weighty subject of “Streets of Heaven,” his collaboration with Courtney Marie Andrews.
Before performing this deeply moving piece, Odell offered a careful preamble about processing the shock of yet another American school shooting. The song, written from the perspective of an imagined student, required delicate handling—both in its creation and performance. Released in August 2023 in partnership with Everytown to raise awareness and funds for gun control, it represents Odell’s willingness to engage with difficult social issues through his art.
Shifting to a somewhat lighter theme, he discussed how the gut-wrenching finale of the Timothy Chalamet film, Call Me By Your Name, inspired his breakup ballad “The End of the Summer.”
As the evening drew to a close, Odell realized with gleeful admission that he hadn’t yet performed anything from his upcoming album. He remedied this with the title track “Wonderful Life,” a song that explores themes of despair and helplessness in the face of relentless news cycles and dark headlines, while searching for hope and meaning amid the chaos.
The showcase revealed an artist unafraid to confront difficult emotions and complex themes. In a world hungry for authenticity and sensitivity, Odell’s songs offer precisely the heartfelt insight and thoughtfulness that audiences crave—delivered with the intimate vulnerability that only a solo piano performance can provide.
Pre-orders for the album are available directly from his website.
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