A child of mixed Nigerian, Chadian and French heritage, Arlo Parks grew up in South West London. Struggling with her identity, she turned to the world of storytelling. Parks found inspiration in poems by Allen Ginsberg and Nayyirah Waheed, novels by Sylvia Plath and Haruki Murakami, and a huge array of songs by everyone from Otis Redding and King Krule to Loyle Carner and David Bowie.

By the age of 17, she’d figured out she was bisexual and created an album’s worth of material. A year later, in November 2018, she made her music debut by releasing Cola, a confessional track about both feeling bitter and missing a cheating lover.

Parks’ first EP Super Sad Generation came out in early 2019 and incorporated her poetic lyrics with elements of pop, soul, jazz and hip hop. That summer she performed at festivals including The Great Escape, Glastonbury (on the BBC Music Introducing stage) and Latitude. Her follow-up EP Sophie arrived in December and saw her receive critical acclaim for the title track as well as for Angel’s Song and Second Guessing.

Parks was long-listed as a breakthrough act in the 2020 BBC Sound Of music poll. Jack Saunders of BBC Radio 1 called her “a voice of our generation”, while i-D magazine said that “hers is a brand of confessional pop that feels both personal and universal”.

Not only has 2020 seen Parks release tracks like Eugene, Black Dog and Hurt, but she also provided vocals for Glass Animals’ single Tangerine and Fraser T. Smith’s track Strangers In The Night. In autumn, she revealed the arrival of her debut studio album Collapsed In Sunbeams on 29 January 2021.

“My album is a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it,” said Parks. “It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia – I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific.”

In October 2020, Parks released the single Green Eyes with backing vocals and guitar from Clairo as well as an accompanying video directed by Louis Bhose. She also confirmed a UK tour to support Collapsed In Sunbeams for May and June 2021.

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Arlo Parks’ 2021 tour dates

• 12 May 2021 – Gorilla, Manchester
• 18 May 2021 – Mash House, Edinburgh
• 19 May 2021 – St Luke’s, Glasgow
• 21 May 2021 – Chalk, Brighton
• 25 May 2021 – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
• 26 May 2021 – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
• 29 May 2021 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
• 30 May 2021 – Thekla, Bristol
• 2 June 2021 – Village Underground, London