From Jailhouse Rock to playing at King Tut’s

Jill Brown (38) from Milton of Campsie is performing at King Tut’s on May 30, supporting an up-and-coming band Polly and the Billets Doux from Bristol.

It’s a rare chance to hear her singing in public, as up until now her performances have been for very select audiences – many of whom have been behind bars.

Recent gigs have included singing for the Glasgow City Mission, with the audience made up of homeless people who have come in for a hot meal, a recovery cafe for people in Kirkintilloch with drug and alcohol problems and in a series of events inside Barlinnie prison.

Jill said: ‘‘I played at Barlinnie a few times with just my guys, but I like to involve people so I decided to find some musical prisoners and rehearsed with them and did a concert with some of their own songs and some cover songs.’’

Surprised by the musical talent behind bars, Jill and her band have been back at the request of the governor to do more gigs with a mixture of Johnny Cash cover songs and her and their own work.

Singing is very much in the family as her parents Lyn and Jack met when performing and her Papa Richard was also a singer. Her sister Susie, who works in London, also sings.

With influences as varied as Maria Callas and George Michael, Jill’s own style is best described as soul music ‘‘as it very much comes from the soul’’, but often she writes very different songs.

‘‘I never say I am setting out to write a pop song, I just write and what comes out comes out,’’ said Jill, who pens all her own music.

Jill worked as a journalist for six years at STV and freelanced for the BBC before setting up her own PR consultancy firm eight years ago.

The King Tut’s night will be a mix of funky bluegrass music and Jill’s own diverse, but fundamentally soulful, sounds

To get hold of tickets for the King Tut’s concert email [email protected]