Church of Sound (London) and Jazz Stroud are proud to present one of the most significant live music bookings to come to the Stroud district in recent years: a full headline show from Brian Jackson, the legendary musician and composer whose catalogue — recorded alongside Gil Scott-Heron — has shaped over fifty years of protest music, hip-hop, jazz and soul.
Taking place at the iconic Brunel Goods Shed on Saturday 6 June, the show is part of Brian Jackson’s Now More Than Ever tour, a programme that feels as urgent and necessary in 2026 as the music did when it was first written.
Neil Walker from SVA said: “This will be a very special opportunity to experience the unique d&b audiotechnik soundscape 360 in the round gig in the Goods Shed.”
“Church of Sound is a regular gig in St James the Great Church, Lower Clapton Rd. A central speaker tower stands tall in the centre of the room, surrounded by musicians, audience and crew. Emphasis is placed firmly on the music: carefully selected, joyfully performed & cleanly recorded.” Music in Communion
“Put simply: the vibe is incredible, the music is outstanding.” Clash magazine
About Brian Jackson
Few figures in 20th century music can claim the legacy of Brian Jackson. Beginning his professional career at just 18 years old, Jackson had recorded nine albums before his 27th birthday — extraordinary by any measure.
Alongside Gil Scott-Heron, he forged a body of work that drew on jazz, blues and soul to speak directly to the social and political upheavals of the 1970s. Songs like Winter in America, We Almost Lost Detroit and The Bottle were not merely recordings: they were dispatches from a moment in history, and they have only grown in stature with time.
Widely recognised as a progenitor of what became known as “conscious music” — music that carries a message — Jackson was described by the New Yorker as “a musical pioneer.” His influence runs through generations: Tupac, Common, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are among the artists who have drawn on the Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson catalogue for inspiration and sample material.
After two decades away from recording, Jackson returned with striking force: his Jazz Is Dead collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) arrived in 2021, followed in 2022 by This Is Brian Jackson on BBE Music, which earned a place in Mojo‘s Highest Rated Albums of that year and appeared in the New York Times‘ playlist. Over his career he has performed alongside Roy Ayers, Gregory Porter, Christian McBride, Bootsy Collins, Milton Nascimento and many more.
Now he returns with Now More Than Ever — a definitive live reworking of the Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson songbook, produced by the legendary house duo Masters at Work (Louie Vega and Kenny Dope). The show weaves together the most iconic tunes in the catalogue with new material and Jackson’s own storytelling — behind-the-scenes commentary on how these songs were made, and why they still resonate so deeply in an era that feels, as he puts it, “eerily similar” to the one in which they were written.
His band for the tour features Steve Walters on bass (George Michael, Amy Winehouse), Paul Jones on drums (Alison Moyet, xPropaganda), and the multi-instrumentalist Lex Cameron on keys, flute and guitar.
The Brunel Goods Shed
The Goods Shed is one of Stroud’s most beloved cultural spaces — a Grade II listed industrial heritage building originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1845, nestled beside Stroud railway station.
SVA took on the sublease of the building in 2011, using it for live music, film screenings, exhibitions and community arts projects.
In 2025, SVA completed the full transfer of the venue into its ownership — a landmark moment for arts provision in the district, celebrated with a week of Jazz Stroud events. The Goods Shed has since become the centrepiece of SVA’s ambitions for community-rooted, world-class arts programming in Stroud.
SVA’s mission is to raise the profile of artists and their role in the community — supporting production and presentation of their work, and widening access to the arts for as diverse a range of people as possible.
The Goods Shed represents a new chapter in that mission: a rare and beautiful space in which artists of the calibre of Brian Jackson can perform for a Stroud audience.This show is exactly the kind of programming that speaks to everything Jazz Stroud and SVA stand for: music of depth and consequence, performed live, in a space that does it justice.
Booking Information
Brian Jackson – Now More Than Ever Saturday 6 June 2026, 7:30pm – 11:30pm The Goods Shed, Station Road, Stroud, GL5 3AP
Tickets available at: buytickets.at/stroudvalleysartspace2/2113200
