Jack Savoretti Opens Up About Embracing Midlife and the Music That Came With It

Jack Savoretti on Midlife, Milestones, and Making Music That Matters

Two decades into a career that has seen its share of highs and quiet moments, Jack Savoretti is experiencing something of a renaissance — and he is the first to admit he never saw it coming.

The British-Italian singer-songwriter, who calls a village near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire home, describes the creative process behind his ninth studio album, We Will Always Be The Way We Were, as akin to "leaning into a midlife crisis." Far from being a lament, however, the record stands as one of the most triumphant moments of his career.

A Chart Success He Did Not Expect

Released in April, the album debuted at number two on the UK Official Albums Chart — a result that left Savoretti genuinely stunned. Having followed two successful records, Singing to Strangers (2019) and Europiana (2021), and coming off an Italian-language project, the 42-year-old confesses he had steeled himself for indifference.

"I was like, is anybody still interested?" he admits. "I was so moved by the overwhelming reaction we had from our fan base."

During release week, he found himself locked in a chart battle with Grammy Award-winning artist Olivia Dean — one of the favourite singers of his 14-year-old daughter and his niece. "They couldn't believe that papa was in this — and I couldn't believe it either," he laughed.

Writing for the 'Afternoon of Life'

The thematic core of the album was born from a sense of disconnect Savoretti felt with much of today's musical landscape. While he holds deep admiration for a new wave of British talent — citing Sienna Spiro, Olivia Dean, Sam Fender, and Lewis Capaldi — he found their subject matter spoke to a younger experience than his own.

"There's not much music that I listen to that I relate to right now," he explains. "The stuff they talk about is beautiful and romantic and youthful."

As a father of three who has also navigated the grief of losing his own father and the quiet anxieties of middle age, Savoretti felt compelled to create something for a different audience entirely.

"I don't know if there's much music for all the mothers and the fathers in the world, especially for men," he says. "I really wanted to make an album that was useful to anybody in the afternoon of life."

The album's title reflects his belief that while people may not fundamentally change over time, they can — and should — grow.

Royal Albert Hall and an Emotional Milestone

April and May also brought another landmark: Savoretti performed his own headline shows at the Royal Albert Hall. With his wife and children in the audience, the experience proved more overwhelming than he anticipated.

"The first night really surprised me with how emotional it made me," he recalls. His five-year-old daughter, attending one of her father's concerts for the first time at such a grand venue, looked thoroughly puzzled by the spectacle.

"It was the first time she was like, 'Why is papa walking on this stage right now?' That really choked me up — I had a lump in my throat for the whole show. But it was cool."

The album also marks his first creative collaboration with long-time friend and fellow singer KT Tunstall, a pairing that fans of both artists are sure to appreciate.

How the Cotswolds Became Home

Savoretti is candid about the role his surroundings have played in his creativity and general sense of wellbeing. Having relocated from London to the Cotswolds with his wife and two children over a decade ago, he credits the move with transforming his outlook on life.

"I love where we live. I've met some of the most interesting people," he says. "It has a lot to do with just me loving life."

The decision to leave the city was entirely spontaneous. The couple agreed to give rural life six months — and if it did not work out, they would return to London. That was eleven years ago.

The landscape of the Cotswolds also connects Savoretti to his childhood roots. He grew up in Carona, a small Swiss village near Lake Lugano, where the natural beauty of his surroundings was a constant distraction from the classroom.

"I always wanted to look out the window because it was so beautiful," he recalls warmly.

A Career-Defining Tour on the Horizon

With the album's success still resonating, Savoretti is preparing for the most ambitious tour of his career. Kicking off in Zagreb in September and concluding in Birmingham in November, the European and UK run will take him through Athens, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris, among other cities — a fitting journey for an artist whose music has always carried an unmistakably continental soul.