Acclaimed US jazz and blues singer Gregory Porter has lined up an impressive autumn season of shows in London, which includes a night at the Royal Albert Hall.
On Friday, the 52-year-old released Christmas Wish, a compilation of festive numbers, and is set to tour Europe and then the States this season.
But it is not just his voice that makes Porter distinctive, as he has always performed in a deerstalker cap that is modified to wrap around his face.
This is the background to the man with a unique voice and appearance.
Who is Gregory Porter?
Porter is something of a late blooming musician who found fame in the 2010s, when he was in his forties. His 2014 album Liquid Spirit won him the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album while a Disclosure remix of the title track introduced him to a younger audience in the UK.
He has appeared on Jools Holland’s programmes on the BBC and gone on to further success with 2017 album Take Me to the Alley also winning a Grammy.
Christmas Wish contains mostly covers as well as three original songs, Heart For Christmas and Everything's Not Lost as well as the title track.
Why does Gregory Porter wear a hat?
Porter has been coy about his reasons for wearing a hat beyond that he had scars for facial surgery. Whether these have fully healed or not is unknown as Porter is reluctant to discuss it.
“People recognise me by it now,” he told the BBC. “It is what it is.” He added that he does not want the focus to be on the hat but instead his “heart and soul”.
What type of hat does Gregory Porter wear?
The singer is known for wearing a black deerstalker cap, similar to a flat cap but with modifications to fit around his chin like a balaclava.
It’s unknown if it is just one hat or he has several.
When is Gregory Porter performing in London?
Gregory Porter is signing and singing at Pryzm in Kingston on Tuesday November 7 from 6pm. Tickets are now sold out for the intimate show.
This is all ahead of his headline performance on December 13 at the Royal Albert Hall for which tickets are on sale now.
It is not his first visit either. In 2016, he told the Evening Standard that his late mother predicted he would play the Royal Albert Hall.
