Patti Smith Quartet

Often referred to as the "Punk Poet Laureate," Patti Smith is a seminal American singer-songwriter, poet, author, and visual artist. She burst into the cultural consciousness in 1975 with her revolutionary debut album, Horses, which fused French symbolist poetry with the raw power of garage rock. Over a career spanning five decades, Smith has remained one of rock and roll’s most influential and singular voices, earning an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 and winning the National Book Award in 2010 for her bestselling memoir, Just Kids.

 

While her legendary early work laid the foundation for the punk movement, Smith's modern live performances carry that same transcendent, improvisational fire. Today, she continues to tour the world with a lean, powerful four-piece lineup known as the Patti Smith Quartet.

 

This close-knit, powerhouse ensemble brings a deeply personal and kinetic energy to her catalog. Fronted by Smith on vocals and guitar, the quartet features her long-time musical collaborator, co-writer, and producer Tony Shanahan on bass, keyboards, and backing vocals. The band's sonic architecture is guitarist Jackson Smith, who carries on a profound family legacy as the son of Patti and the late MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith. The lineup is completed by acclaimed British drummer Sebastian Rochford, whose dynamic, versatile pulse injects a modern rhythmic complexity into the band’s legendary anthems. Together, the Patti Smith Quartet strips the music down to its rawest, most expressive essentials, proving that the radical spirit of rock and roll remains as vital and urgent as ever.