Beth Gibbons

First gaining renown as the voice of Portishead, Beth Gibbons is an enigmatic yet intensely emotive musician. The innovative trip-hoppers drew on the vocal jazz and pop of the past while reinventing it radically, and Gibbons' vocals -- which recalled greats such as Nina Simone and Edith Piaf -- fit Portishead's postmodern mystique perfectly. As a solo artist, Gibbons places her elegantly gritty contralto in a wide array of settings. The haunted chamber folk of 2002's Rustin Man collaboration Out of Season was a departure that nevertheless felt true to her artistry, as did her 2014 performance of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" and the unflinching meditations on mortality of 2024's Lives Outgrown. She also worked with French pop legend Jane Birkin, stoner rock band Gonga, and acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar -- all of which reflected Gibbons' brilliance at finding the emotional truth within any kind of music.