Adrianne Lenker

Last updated

Adrianne Lenker
Big Thief - Haldern Pop Festival 2018-4.jpg
Lenker performing with Big Thief in 2018
Background information
Birth nameAdrianne Elizabeth Lenker
Born (1991-07-09) July 9, 1991 (age 32)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Origin Plymouth, Minnesota
Genres Indie folk
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active2006–present
Labels
Member of Big Thief
Website adriannelenker.com

Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief, as well as an established solo artist.

Contents

Early life

Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian cult until the age of four, [1] [2] but primarily grew up in Minnesota. Her parents rented homes in Coon Rapids, Nisswa, and Bloomington, Minnesota, before settling down in Plymouth, Minnesota, where she lived for 10 years, excluding a brief time spent in Santa Cruz, California. She spent a summer traveling throughout the midwest and living out of a Ford cargo van. [3]

Lenker wrote her first song at the age of eight, and recorded her first album at age 13. [3] Her other interests included studying martial arts, and she was the state karate champion three years in a row.[ citation needed ] She moved to Santa Cruz for a year and a half, living with a family friend and working at a local McDonalds. She dropped out of Santa Cruz High School halfway into her sophomore year, moved back to Plymouth, and got her GED at the age of 16. [3] She attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship provided by Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band. [4]

Career

Lenker in 2017 Big Thief at the Lexington - 32694587412.jpg
Lenker in 2017

On February 28, 2006, when Lenker was 14, she released her first solo album, Stages of the Sun. [5] On January 9, 2014, Lenker released her second solo album, Hours Were the Birds. [6]

On May 1, 2014, Lenker, together with future bandmate Buck Meek, released the LP records a-sides and b-sides. [7] In 2015, Lenker and Meek, alongside Max Oleartchik and James Krivchenia, formed the band Big Thief, whose first album was released in 2016. [8] The band has since released four more albums, and has been touring every year since their formation. [9]

Lenker released her third solo album, Abysskiss , on October 5, 2018. [10] [11] The album consisted of songs Lenker wrote while touring with Big Thief, and two of the songs received full arrangements, which were rereleased on the band's album U.F.O.F. a few months later. [12]

While in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lenker wrote and recorded two albums, Songs and Instrumentals, which were released on October 23, 2020. [13] The albums focused on less production and a more acoustic sound with traditional folk songwriting and improvisation. Both albums were recorded without any digital processes, utilizing an analog-analog-analog (AAA) recording method. [14]

In January 2024, Lenker partnered with School of Song to teach a four-week course on songwriting, which focused on ways to expand creativity through different guitar techniques and lyrical focuses. [15] In the same month, Lenker also announced her sixth studio album, Bright Future , which was released on March 22, 2024. [16]

On March 11, 2024, Lenker released an EP, I Won't Let Go of Your Hand, exclusively on Bandcamp with proceeds going to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. [17]

Personal life

Lenker met the future Big Thief co-founder Buck Meek at a concert when she lived in Boston, and then she encountered him again in a bodega the day she moved to New York. [18] [8] The pair began to play together, and married when Lenker was 24. [18] They divorced in 2018, remaining in Big Thief as "deep friends". [18] In 2019, Lenker was in a relationship with the artist Indigo Sparke, and the two separated sometime in 2020. [18] [19] [20]

While Lenker is comfortable with the label "queer", she has expressed a desire not to define her sexual orientation beyond that. [18] Her lyrics often contain discussions of gender and the gender binary. In an interview with The Brag, Lenker said of those lyrics, "I feel within myself a constant dialogue between my masculinity, my femininity and the part of me that is neither of those things. I'm just trying to talk about it because I feel like I'm something that is very ambiguous." [21]

Discography

Adrianne Lenker discography
Studio albums5
Live albums1
Compilation albums1
EPs3
Singles1

Studio albums

TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
US
Folk
[22] 		US
Heat
[23] 		US
Indie
[24] 		US
Sales
[25] 		NZ
[26]
Stages of the Sun
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: LucidTunes
  • Formats: CD
—————
Hours Were the Birds—————
Abysskiss
  • Released: October 5, 2018
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
—1039——
Songs
  • Released: October 23, 2020
  • Label: 4AD
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
1211—43—
Instrumentals
Bright Future
  • Released: March 22, 2024
  • Label: 4AD
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
————28

Live albums

TitleDetails
Live at the Southern
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: LucidTunes
  • Formats: CD

Compilation albums

TitleDetails
a-sides and b-sides(with Buck Meek)
  • Released: November 16, 2018
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: LP, CD

Extended plays

TitleDetails
a-sides(with Buck Meek)
  • Released: May 1, 2014
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
b-sides(with Buck Meek)
  • Released: May 1, 2014
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
I Won't Let Go of Your Hand
  • Released: March 11, 2024
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist

TitleYearAlbum
"Cradle"2018Abysskiss
"Symbol"
"From"
"Anything"2020Songs
"Dragon Eyes"
"Ruined"2023Bright Future
"Sadness as a Gift"2024
"Fool"
TitleYearAlbum
"Carousel"
(Ginla featuring Adrianne Lenker)		2022Everything
"Dresser Hill"
(Mary Elizabeth Remington featuring Adrianne Lenker)		2023In Embudo

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2020 Grammy Awards Best Alternative Music Album U.F.O.F. Nominated [27]
2021 Best Rock Song "Not"Nominated
Best Rock Performance Nominated
2023 Best Alternative Music Performance "Certainty"Nominated
Best Alternative Music Album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ Mapes, Jillian (April 6, 2017). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Is One of a Kind". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra (May 2019). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker: 'We're all brainwashed'" . The Independent . Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Schonfeld, Zach (October 10, 2018). "Adrianne Lenker on Big Thief's Success and Her Intimate New Solo Album, 'abysskiss'". Newsweek . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  4. ↑ Tedder, Michael (September 24, 2019). "Big Thief's Big Year". Stereogum . Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ Dwyer, Michael (December 18, 2016). "Stealing destiny, Big Thief trust the music and themselves". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ Turner-Heffer, Adam. "Adrianne Lenker: abysskiss". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  7. ↑ Naddaff-Hafrey, Benjamin (November 9, 2017). "The Lore of Big Thief". NPR. NPR Music . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  8. 1 2 O'Neill, Lauren (May 2019). "A Pensive Trip to the Museum with Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker". Vice . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Big Thief Concert History". Concert Archives. 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ Claymore, Gabriela (September 24, 2018). "Adrianne Lenker Leans into The Abyss". Stereogum . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  11. ↑ Boilen, Bob. "Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief On 'abysskiss' And How Songs Can Heal". NPR.org. NPR Music . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Album Of The Week: Big Thief 'U.F.O.F.'". Stereogum. April 30, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (September 2, 2020). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Announces Two Solo Albums Made in Quarantine". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  14. ↑ "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4AD. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Songwriting Workshop with Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief)". School of Song. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Announces New Album and Tour, Shares New Song "Sadness as a Gift"". Pitchfork. January 17, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  17. ↑ Corcoran, Nina (March 12, 2024). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Releases New Songs to Benefit Palestine Children's Relief Fund". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Petrusich, Amanda (October 12, 2020). "Adrianne Lenker's Radical Honesty". The New Yorker . Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  19. ↑ Barlow, Eve (May 1, 2019). "Big Thief's exploratory folk is alternately intimate and expansive on 'U.F.O.F.'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  20. ↑ Boilen, Bob (February 26, 2020). "Indigo Sparke: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR . Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  21. ↑ Quinn, Belinda (August 1, 2018). "With Capacity, Adrianne Lenker is challenging what it means to be human". The Brag. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard . Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard . Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard . Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Top Album Sales". Billboard . Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  26. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 1, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker | Artist". grammy.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
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