Lottie Murray
Conveying raw emotion and experiences with a guitar and two lava lamps, Adrianne Lenker shares an authentic setlist – from the discography of her solo artist career and her work with Big Thief to covers of Chris Smither and Lucinda Williams pieces. Lottie Murray reviews.
This was by far one of the most intimate gigs I have ever been to, with a completely seated audience bringing a very quiet and respectful atmosphere. Despite the completely filled stands, Adrianne held light-hearted conversations with her audience, reminiscing on her first visit to Manchester and the significance the place holds for her: “It always felt like a landing spot, it was the first time I cut my hair at Bernie’s place. My hair was really long. I was 24 when I first came here, and Bernie came to the rescue….it was a rat tail slash bowl cut type of thing!”
this anecdote brought out a very humble side to her, taking her off the pedestal of a well-known artist and allowing the audience to connect with her and her music
Her sharing of personal experiences and journey as an artist introduced us to a very individual side to her, a huge contrast from her presence as lead singer of Big Thief. She even told us how she always felt uncomfortable tuning her guitar in front of an audience as a young musician, but has come to realize that “it’s an art in itself”. Although very light-hearted, this anecdote brought out a very humble side to her, taking her off the pedestal of a well-known artist and allowing the audience to connect with her and her music. This is something that will always come to mind when listening to her work.
she played whatever piece resonated with her and even took suggestions from her audience!
One thing that really stood out to me during this set was the genuineness with which Adrianne shared her music with us. While most artists have a relatively rigid setlist, she showed us a very authentic side of her music, where she played whatever piece resonated with her and even took suggestions from her audience! Adrianne brought back support act Nick Hakim at the end of the show and they performed “zombie girl” twice after someone from the audience called “play it again”!
the perfect bittersweet ending to this once in a lifetime performance
In her new album Bright Future, Adrianne released a version of one of my favourite songs of all time, which first made its debut as a single by Big Thief in 2023. As her last song before her encore, she performed “Vampire Empire” and transitioned into Lucinda Williams’ “Like a Rose”. As a massive fan of Lucinda and Big Thief’s music, it was like my worlds colliding and the perfect bittersweet ending to this once in a lifetime performance.
The stripped back performance Adrianne delivered has left a lasting impression on me and brought a completely new light to my appreciation of her work. Not only did she showcase her immense musical talent, but her range and depth as an artist was also conveyed in beautifully unconventional ways.
Lottie Murray
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @adriannelenker via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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