JOANNA NEWSOM + Jens Hannemann

Saturday 10:00 PM at the Bijou Theatre
Joanna Newsom + Jens Hannemann

Joanna Newsom sings about whalebones, sleep, grammar, mollusks, accumulation, automobiles, owls, burning boats, string collections, milk, teeth, bridges, balloons, cake, colors, and kin, all in an otherworldly, ragged-sweet voice that defies convention. Her harp arrangements are at times ethereal and delicate,  galloping and ornate, but never overwrought — presenting not so much a mere fusion of influences, as an inquiry into the places where those influences naturally intersect.

Despite an extensive musical background, (she took up the harp at age eight), she hadn’t sung until she began concentrating on her songs, but her voice, which had a pure, untrained sound described by one reviewer as, “somewhere between a child and a crone”, is the perfect complement to her music.

Newsom started out recording some collections of songs and sharing them with friends.  Eventually they found their way to musicians like Will Oldham and Cat Power, both of whom invited her to play opening slots for their shows. Next came the release of the Walnut Whales EP, which she followed up with another EP, Yarn and Glue.

Newsom released her full-length debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, in spring 2004; later that year she toured the U.S. with Devendra Banhart.
In 2006 she changed direction again, with the release of her new album Ys, which received great critical acclaim and landed Newsom the Number 3 spot on Pitchfork’s list of Top Albums of 2006.

Her new album, Have One On Me was recently released to critical acclaim.  Here’s hoping we hear some of it when she comes to visit in March.

Jens Hannemann will be opening the show.