“One of this generation’s most potent songwriters.” – NME
“Heir to Dylan.” – The Sunday Times
“Lenker is a treasure for the ages.” – The Spectator
Adrianne Lenker – ‘Evol’
Official Video Directed by Erin Birgy
Earlier this year, Adrianne Lenker released her beloved new album Bright Future via 4AD. Hailed as ‘a raw gem’ by Rolling Stone, Bright Future has won over the hearts of fans and critics alike, garnering high praise from Pitchfork, DIY, NME, Uncut, The New York Times, MOJO, and many more.
The beating heart of the album, ‘Evol’ studies love in a mirror, as Lenker’s exquisite wordplay stands firmly in the rich tradition of folk music. Words are reversed as meaning appears and goes out of frame. Love becomes evol (evil), teach cheat, part trap. Voices and violin weightlessly repeat Adrianne’s summiting melody as she accepts what she sees; “The giver takes // The taker gives.”
Bright Future marks Lenker’s first album since 2020’s songs & instrumentals, and features co-production from Philip Weinrobe, alongside contributions from Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen. During the high vibrance of autumn, 2022, the Big Thief band member got lucky. Three musical friends, “Some of my favourite people,” had space in their busy touring schedules to join her at the forest-hidden, analogue studio, Double Infinity. The musicians – Hakim, Davidson, and Runsteen – were known to Adrianne but newer to each other. “I had no idea what the outcome would be,” she recalls. The result? “It was magical,” she says.
Adrianne’s musical risk became Bright Future, the studio’s first album, a 12-track telling of a journeyed heart. There are details to savour, fingertips on strings, felt pads nodding in the piano, the harmonies a few steps back, all smoothly laid to tape. It comes together to allow these songs to be as they are, unarmoured and light-footed, creating ‘a thing of wonder, spare and spacious, its vocals close, its lyrics hitting you straight in the heart’ (The Sunday Times).
Adrianne is currently embarking on a mostly sold-out North American tour this upcoming summer & fall. A full list of dates can be found below, and remaining tickets can be purchased HERE.
Upcoming Tour Dates
June
10th – The Paramount Theatre, Austin TX, USA % SOLD OUT
12th – KiMO Theatre, Albuquerque NM, USA % SOLD OUT
13th – Rialto Theatre, Tucson AZ, USA % SOLD OUT
15th – The United Theater on Broadway, Los Angeles CA, USA § SOLD OUT
16th – The United Theater on Broadway, Los Angeles CA, USA + SOLD OUT
17th – Fox Theater, Oakland CA, USA + SOLD OUT
20th – Revolution Hall, Portland OR, USA ∞ SOLD OUT
21st – Revolution Hall, Portland OR, USA + SOLD OUT
22nd – Paramount Theatre, Seattle WA, US + SOLD OUT
24th – Treefort Music Hall, Boise ID, US =
25th – The Depot, Salt Lake City UT, USA = SOLD OUT
26th – The Mission Ballroom, Denver CO, USA =
28th – Chicago Theatre, Chicago IL, US = SOLD OUT
29th – State Theatre, Minneapolis MN, US = SOLD OUT
30th – State Theatre, Minneapolis MN, US =
July
26th – Newport Folk Festival, Newport RI, USA
November
11th – Academy of Music Theatre, Northampton MA, US ^ SOLD OUT
12th – Boch Center Shubert Theatre, Boston MA, US ^ SOLD OUT
13th – Boch Center Shubert Theatre, Boston MA, US ^ SOLD OUT
15th – L’Olympia, Montreal QC, CAN ^ SOLD OUT
16th – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto ON, CAN ^ SOLD OUT
18th – Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY, US ^ SOLD OUT
19th – Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY, US ^
21st – The Eastern, Atlanta GA, US ^
22nd – TBA, Durham NC, US
23rd – The Anthem, Washington DC, US ^
25th – Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, US ^ SOLD OUT
26th – Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, US ^ SOLD OUT
+ w/ Nick Hakim
§ w/ Buck Meek
∞ w/ Kimya Dawson
= w/ Staci Foster
% w/ Steve Fisher
^ w/ Suzanne Vallie