Arts Centre Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium

American songwriter Eleni Mandell first came to prominence in 2000, when The New Yorker called her “the best unsigned artist in the business”. Six albums on, Mandell is still happily making music influenced by Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones and Suzanne Vega.

Mandell’s trademark are her beautiful listening songs and velvety voice. Or, in the words of music mag Rolling Stone: “small songs about bad boyfriends”. On her new album Artificial Fire, Mandell breaks out and shows a more powerful side of herself.