Curated by renowned English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, The Floating Palace is a series of five intimate evenings of musical collaboration and experimentation, featuring folk legends Martin and Eliza Carthy, Missouri-born singer-songwriter Krystle Warren, Scottish songstress KT Tunstall, and alt-country experimentalist Howe Gelb (Giant Sand).

The artists accompany each other on songs they know and songs they have only just met – something they would normally only get to do in the studio, or after hours. The Floating Palace was inspired by the Incredible String Band song, The Waltz Of The New Moon, by the pleasure ships built by Roman emperor Caligula on lake Nemi and by the Floating Palace in Jaipur, India.

Hitchcock says "Music is what you make it. This is a live experiment: a chance collection of musicians trapped in a lift, with only our voices, our instruments and a steady supply of oxygen, passing a couple of hours until the firemen rescue us - or till the cable is cut and we fall too far, too fast. What would we play together, the six of us? Transpose that lift to a stage, with a small PA and a live audience, and you have Howe Gelb, Krystle Warren, KT Tunstall, Eliza and Martin Carthy - five players I deeply admire - joining me in The Floating Palace."

Setlist could be incomplete, probably only the songs Robyn played on.

Online review and photos by eGigs
From time to time 'Supergroups' rise from the ashes and last night was no exception. Robyn Hitchcock had gathered together a merry band of lads and lasses under the guise of 'The Floating Palace'. The evening incorporated some big names including uber-talented KT Tunstall, odd ball Howe Gelb, Eliza Carthy (Martin Carthy was absent due to another engagement), angelic Krystle Warren and substitute John Paul Jones.

Warwick Arts Centre is an amazing venue, once you've managed to find it through the immense university campus. The audience seemed to be made up of mainly over 50's with a few youngsters thrown in for good measure, I actually felt quite young last night and that's something.

Proceedings kicked off at 8.00 and we were treated to 90 mins of off the wall entertainment. At points the set seemed quite disjointed, but this was probably due to the loss of Martin Carthy. Each member of the band had a chance to shine by singing their own material and being supported by the band. Songs that shone through last night were Warren's previously unreleased track 'Emily', Tunstall's Scarlet Tulip', Tunstall's 'Shanty of the Whale' combined with vocals from Hitchcock and Carthy and Hitchcock's 'Uncorrected Personality Traits' which all the vocalists joined in on and which was comical.

Gigs like this amaze me cause you always end up seeing artists you would never really go out and see, so after last night's gig I really wanna go and see Eliza Carthy and Krystle Warren again, they totally blew my mind. Carthy joked about her liking for Ben and Jerrys and Corn on the cob with butter and commented about her size, and Warren reminded me of Tracey Chapman. The added bonus tonight was seeing the ever so talented KT Tunstall, the one women band, is there anything she can't play!? She was worth the ticket price all on her own. Bring on the new album.

I did enjoy the show immensely and Tunstall's rendition of Michael Jackson's 'I Want you Back' just showed what the band could do, it was amazeballs, my foot never stopped tapping. Totally loved it, I was left wanting more.

Special thanks of the night to the very professional staff at the venue and Jan McQuillan the Press Officer who was so helpful and is an absolute star. (Shame other venues don't take a leaf out of her book).