Karen Carpenter: Lead Sister Evening
Dr Lucy O'Brien is a writer, academic and broadcaster. Her acclaimed in-depth biography Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter was 2023 Times Book of The Year. She also wrote Dusty: The Classic Biography, She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music (now in its fourth edition), and Madonna: Like An Icon, which was translated into 13 languages. She has co-authored memoirs The Liverbirds: Our Life in Britain’s First Female Rock n’ Roll Band, and It Takes Blood And Guts with rock singer Skin. She teaches postgrad research and Music Industry Management at London College of Music, UWL, and once played in all-girl punk band The Catholic Girls.
Hannah White and Keiron Marshall interpret Carpenters songs with a touch of gritty Americana and cosmic country. A vibrant singer-songwriter, Hannah’s current album Sweet Revolution won UK Artist and UK Album of the Year at the Americana Music Association Awards earlier this year, and hit the UK Official Album charts at no. 14. Uncut magazine hail her ‘expressive voice and songcraft’, while Acoustic praised ‘the sparkling wink in her poetry.’ Keiron has been carving out his own niche in the blues landscape and he's just been awarded UK Instrumentalist Of The Year at the Americana Music Association Awards 2025.
Q&A hosts:
Mark Underwood is a music journalist and content creator for KLOG Mag, with over 30 years' experience writing for publications and trade journals, including Music Week and Americana UK. He is co-founder of Everyday I Write The Book music and book events.
Sean Hannam is a freelance journalist specialising in music, tech and retail - he has over 25 years' experience writing for magazines and online publications, including Hi-Fi+, Record Collector and Classic Pop special editions, and Super Deluxe Edition. In 2023, he hosted the Made By Music podcast for UK hi-fi brand, Cambridge Audio.
Doors 7pm, Show 8pm
Copies of Lucy O'Brien's book Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter will be available to purchase on the night.
