Overview

• On July 12, during a BBC Radio Wales appearance, Smith learned his hometown of Wynnefield was named after Welsh physician Dr. Thomas Wynne and that Bryn Mawr is Welsh for “big hill.”
• The 56-year-old quipped “That might be my new name: Welsh Smith” as he playfully embraced his unexpected family heritage.
• He is promoting Based on a True Story, his first studio album since 2005, with a global tour that began in Rabat on June 25 and includes five U.K. dates from August 24 to 30.
• His U.K. leg peaks with a Cardiff show on August 25 before the tour wraps up in Paris.
• Smith underscored his longstanding British ties by recalling that he and DJ Jazzy Jeff recorded much of their early music in the U.K., framing the revelations as a homecoming.