Victoria Canal for Piccadilly Piano Festival

Part of Piccadilly Piano Festival at St James's.

Doors 6:30pm. Event 7pm-8pm with short interval. No support act.

A one-off intimate set with voice and piano from rising star Victoria Canal, mentee of Coldplay's Chris Martin and electronic artist Jon Hopkins.

Victoria Canal is a German-born Spanish-American singer-songwriter. Born in Munich, Victoria lived a nomadic existence, travelling across the world with her parents and siblings, living everywhere from Shanghai, Tokyo and Amsterdam to Dubai and Atlanta. In between the travelling, she studied music in Barcelona and New York – including a stint under legendary voice coach Jan Smith, who'd worked with the likes of Drake and Usher.

Canal was born without her right forearm but this has not hindered her rising stardom. During lockdown she wrote the songs that now make up her EP, Elegy. At first she was certain that these deeply personal and emotive tracks would never be heard by anyone at all; with news that a close relative was sick with incurable cancer, Victoria wrote the songs as a means to explore her own feelings of sorrow, helplessness and the anticipatory grief that comes with knowing a loved one won't recover from a terminal illness. When she finished writing the songs, Victoria says she realised she had a complete "body of work".

One of her recordings found its way to Coldplay's Chris Martin. A year later when lockdown lifted, he invited Victoria to record at his studio. Chris introduced Victoria to Parlophone and soon after, she signed a deal with the world-renowned label. Martin became Victoria's mentor and encouraged her to be more open and honest in her songwriting. Another mentor came in the shape of Jon Hopkins whose studio she now regularly works at in London.

When not making music, Victoria is a passionate activist for the disabled, as well as women and the LGBTQ+ communities as a queer musician.

Victoria says growing up without seeing such visibility was tough. "There was nobody who looked like me on screen," she says. "It was the same not just with that but with women, and queer women too. In my latest video, I have women, trans and non-binary actors in the parts as well as more people of colour. I didn't see anyone like me in the public eye as a teenager, and I think being that person for someone else might be really cool. In terms of my queerness, it's all just about being open about who I am, throwing away any labels that might be restrictive in the hope that might empower or inspire others to do the same."

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Artist: Victoria Canal