Line-up

Headliner
Sharon Van Etten Last time in Indianapolis: 9 months ago

Venue

Buskirk-Chumley Theater

114 E. Kirkwood Ave., 47408, Bloomington, IN, US

www.buskirkchumley.org

Capacity: 626

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Sharon Van Etten biography

Sharon Van Etten is a folk and indie-rock singer-songwriter from New Jersey US. An extremely talented artist, Van Etten has mastered the role of a striking vocalist, along with the guitar, piano, omnichord, percussion and harmonium.

The New Jerseyan, who moved to Brooklyn, New York US in 2005, released her debut album ‘Because I Was in Love’ in May 2009; it gained credible acclaim and a 7.7 rating from Pitchfork Media, who described it as positioning Sharon Van Etten towards “the front of the pack”. She then released ‘epic’ in September 2010 on Ba Da Bing Records and featured Cat Marino, Meg Baird and Jessica Larrabee on backing vocals.

In February 2012, Van Etten’s third studio album ‘Tramp’ was released on Jagjaguwar records, debuting at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 charts. Keith Matto claimed that 'Tramp' is “a professional polish” in comparison to Van Etten’s earlier productions; the album was seen by many as the first production which featured a particular maturity in her sound. It features the track ‘Serpents’ which was used in the season 2 finale of Lost Girl, along with ‘Magic Chords’ which has gained over 525K views on YouTube. Van Etten then released ‘Are We There’ in May 2014, an album self-produced with Stewart Lerman, which achieved a rating of 86% on Metacritic and a listing of No. 25 on the Billboard 200 charts. It features the emotion-provoking single ‘Every Time the Sun Comes Up’ - Van Etten’s most popular record on iTunes.

Van Etten’s influences are in the shape of the Everly Brothers and Liz Phair, and she has been compared to Laura Jean, Cat Power and Olga Bell. She has performed at prestigious settings such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Beacon theatre, whilst sharing the stage with the likes of The Walkmen, St. Vincent and Atlas Sound. Van Etten has also exercised her ethical motives; in August 2013, she designed a limited-edition t-shirt for Women in Need, a charity which aims to provide safe housing for women and their children in New York City.

Sharon Van Etten’s music is known for its heavy use of harmonies, or in her own words “two melodies”, and continues to satisfy a loyal following with such heartfelt rhythms and elegant vocal chords.

Live reviews

From Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen to Whitney Houston and Bon Jovi, New Jersey has been known to be the home to some of music’s great artists. And we can add Sharon Van Etten to this list.
Born and raised in the Garden State, she finally moved to Brooklyn in 2005 where she was encouraged by TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone to pursue her music. She soon started making homemade demos and mixtapes as well as playing to bars around the local area. Four years later, she released a collection of folk rock songs called ‘Because I Was in Love.’
Seeing Sharon play in New York in the early days of her career greatly differs to how she is on stage now. Back then she was still shy and tended to look down at her guitar more opposed to the audience while she played ‘For You’ or ‘Consolation Prize.’ However, when I saw her again participate in a tribute show to Big Star in Central Park last year (2013), her confidence and connection with the audience was much more present. Instead of being so self-conscious and serious, she was smiling loads and just had a more carefree way about herself while singing some of Big Star’s hits. This attitude has continued as she released more albums like ‘Tramp’ and this year’s ‘Are We There.’
And as she’s grown as an artist and performer, ‘Are We There’ is a culmination of all the hard work she’s put into her career thus far. Not only is she a bit more electric these days and adding more sonic layers to her indie folk sound, but Sharon is sharing other sides of herself.

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