Kathryn Williams & Polly Paulusma Share New Single and Video ‘Tender’

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Celebrated folk singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams has released ‘Tender’, a poignant new single and collaboration with Polly Paulusma, accompanied by a striking video from @theholpicture. Following the release of Personal Paradise, the track is the second single from her highly anticipated 15th studio album, ‘Mystery Park’, set for release on September 26th via One Little Independent Records.

Marking 27 years in music, Williams remains a touchstone for British folk, first rising to prominence with her Mercury Prize-nominated album ‘Little Black Numbers’. New single ‘Tender’ continues her legacy of quiet emotional depth. Built around Paulusma’s delicate guitar work, the song finds Williams observing from a tour van, exploring the weight of feeling like an outsider with “thin skin.” Williams shared, “it was pretty much Polly’s guitar and my lyrics. They were notes from in the car looking at the side of the road and then expanded on to embody the feeling of being always slightly out of the group, on the borders. Wanting to be tough enough to deal with the world.”

‘Tender’ offers a perfect glimpse into the intimate world of ‘Mystery Park’, which Williams calls “the most personal record I’ve made.” Returning to the sparse, affecting sound of her early releases, the album features contributions from an array of trusted collaborators, including Paul Weller, Ed Harcourt, and Leo Abrahams. It’s a reflective, textured collection shaped by motherhood and memory, with artwork painted by Williams herself, based on her grandmother’s willow pattern china.

In a landscape geared toward immediacy, ‘Mystery Park’ stands as a gentle refusal, inviting listeners to slow down and sit with the quiet revelations of a life observed closely and rendered in song with profound grace and generosity.

‘Mystery Park’ is out on September 26th. Kathryn Williams tours the UK throughout October and November.

Live dates

5^th Oct – UK, Liverpool – Philharmonic Hall

6^th Oct – UK, Cambridge – Junction

7^th Oct – UK, Leamington Spa – Temperance

9^th Oct – UK, Luton – The Bear Club

12^th Oct – UK, Hebden Bridge – Trades Club

21^st Oct – UK, Leicester – The International

23^rd Oct – UK, Stockport – Strines Nightingale

24^th Oct – UK, London – St Pancras Old Church

25^th Oct – UK, Coventry – Just Dropped In

26^th Oct – UK, Sheffield – Greystones

28^th Oct – UK, Paisley – Arts Centre

30^th Oct – UK, Gateshead – Glasshouse

31^st Oct – UK, Bristol – The Folk House

1^st Nov – UK, Uley – Prema Arts

2^nd Nov – UK, Exeter – Phoenix

4^th Nov – UK, Chester – Storyhouse

15^th Nov – UK, Thornton Hough – Village Club