PALOMA Faith is eager to be first out of the stalls for this summer's series of three raceday concerts at York Racecourse.

The chart-topping Hackney singer and songwriter will perform on Summer Music Saturday at the Knavesmire course after the June 30 racecard, before Sir Tom Jones returns to the green, green grass of York on July 27 and Boyzone complete the Music Showcase Weekend the next day.

"I'm really looking forward to playing York Racecourse this summer," says Paloma. "It'll be one of the first chances I'll get to play tracks from my album The Architect in the sunshine."

She will be making her Knavesmire debut. "I've never been racing there before, but I'm not unfamiliar with racing; I think horses are beautiful and I hope they're all OK," she says.

She heads for York on the back of her fourth album, The Architect, hitting the top spot last November en route to 500,000 sales, amid her life being busier than ever as she settles into bringing up her first child with French boyfriend Leyman Lahcine, "I’m trying to juggle being a mother and a singer. I have no idea how I am managing, but I am somehow," says the Londoner, who will turn 37 on July 21.

"I do feel my approach to music has changed since I’ve become a parent, which does have an impact. With difficult things that are happening in the world, you feel protective and want to make things comfortable for your family.

York Press:

"It's the duty of artists to comment on what's happening," says Paloma Faith

"I think things are changing in our history and maybe not for the better, which is something I’m concerned about. I feel there’s a sense of duty to talk about events."

Her determination to do things on her own terms has been a consistent theme throughout her career, Paloma first displaying her creative gifts when growing up with a Spanish father and English mother. Initially she studied dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, in Leeds, before singing took over.

"Growing up in Hackney, I was surrounded by lots of different types of music. From my mum, I remember listening to plenty of revolutionary music from the Sixties, such as Bob Dylan, while my dad was really into jazz, which is where my interest in all that comes from.

“Later, when I was studying, I got into R&B and dancehall as well, and originally I wanted to be dancer. Then I did my musical theatre, and I think that music just chose me,” she says.

From her early CV that spanned everything from being a life model, cabaret dancer and bartender, to a gig as a magician’s assistant, her experiences offered tales and adventures galore to fuel her songwriting, from her 2009 debut Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? onwards. Now, The Architect forms Paloma's most politically provocative album to date, responding to the intolerant days we live in with an outpouring of social commentary, her politics rooted in her feminist mother and being taken along to anti-Thatcher rallies in her pushchair as a child.

"It feels very timely, now that we have a different political landscape, where it's the duty of artists to comment on what's happening, because if we just continued to talk about ourselves it would be a disservice to our art," says Paloma.

"What's happening in Britain [UKIP, Brexit] is a continuation of all these things: Donald Trump; the rise in terrorism; the way we treat people from abroad. I think there's a lack of compassion and empathy, which takes us back to the era of Margaret Thatcher."

Paloma feels emboldened to express her views. "To a certain degree it comes from being around for a while and having more platforms to speak from," she says. "I'm genuinely concerned about the younger generation's lack of political and even social involvement – that apathy – and before I get too old and they ignore me, I should say it."

York Press:

The Architect: Paloma Faith's most politically provocative album to date

The Architect also finds Paloma bringing in such luminaries as Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson for Evolution, American soul singer John Legend for I'll Be Gentle and the Guardian columnist, commentator and left-wing political activist Owen Jones for Politics Of Hope.

"I feel like it's an illustration of the concept that if you don't ask, you don't get," she says. "I have this way about me that people can't say 'No'. I just ask.

I met Samuel at the BAFTA awards, which I opened a few years back. He really enjoyed me singing, and I stayed in touch and did a couple of concerts for testicular cancer for him. He said, 'I owe you big time', so he did his piece for Evolution for me.

"With Owen, I read his work and liked what he said, then we were put in touch, met for coffee, and every so often we meet up. Actually, he joined me on my 2015 tour, when I asked him to open the shows in London and Brighton." Jones's contribution to Politics Of Hope ensued.

This summer, Paloma follows up her early-spring arena tour, including Leeds First Direct Arena on March 2, by taking to the great British outdoors for 21 festival, woodland and racecourse shows. "The only reason I do what I’m doing is because I love touring, as when I’m out there I am excited and feel that I’m in the right place," she says.

Have Faith, Paloma will combine songs from her latest album, and her cover of Make Your Own Kind Of Music from her Driven By Something Different advert for Skoda, with hits from her back catalogue. "I'm somebody who likes new things but I have to play old songs too or people will be disappointed," she says.

June 30 tickets update

TICKETS for the County Stand, Grandstand and Paddock areas have sold out, but the refurbished Clocktower Enclosure, in the middle of the course, will be open for sales once gates open for the racing and music double bill at 11.15am. The sound system is being improved, by the way, so it will reach this area.

Admission is £12 for adults, £10 for over 65s and free of charge for accompanied under 18s. Best advice: arrive early.