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8.28.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
just getting home from two weeks in vancouver with jefferson hamer and john raham, me n j finally recorded these british ballads we've been talking about forever. cannot wait to share with you but it will be awhile.
how are you guys? thanks for reading this thing. hey i have good news for the hadestown donors, the peter nevins linocuts are finished and they are absolutely stunning! so i will send your much much belated thank you gifts right away like next week! peter is a tremendous artist in case you haven't noticed here is his website. speaking of hadestown i am very excited to be doing two weekends of shows in the later part of the month with the hadestown orchestra/michael chorney sextet! at these special shows we will play the htown opera from start to finish, and you'll hear the beautiful orchestral arrangements of michael chorney for guitar drums bass cello viola and trombone. the band also opens most of these shows with michael's instrumental compositions.
and before that i'm hitting the road with my two friends again for pt. II of our summer's end 2010 tour, if you don't know them jefferson is a brooklyn based tele playing folkrockstar and rachel is a beautiful chicago based multi-instrumental prairie queen (ha that's funny cos it sounds like faerie queen) and they both sing circles around me which makes it so fun to sing with them. also we have some beautiful hand-silkscreened posters designed by our friend cassie jenkins, you gotta take them off my hands, or i'm gonna have to wallpaper a room with them, and they are way too beautiful for that.
as always i'm unspeakably grateful for your support. hope you're well, wishin you well, love, anais
---
7.27.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
this little kid came up to me and jefferson and one of the guys from low anthem in the lobby of a hotel yesterday in harrisburg and he said hey are you guys in a band?! and then he wanted to know which one. we didn't have our instruments and it made me feel funny and good that we just looked like musicians to this little kid. i told him we didn't have a band name yet cos i thought he would be disappointed if i said my name. i always wanted to be in a band called 'the bangs' or 'lovechild' but it hasn't happened yet.
speaking of bands i'm excited to be doing some shows in august and september with a small band made up of two of my dear friends, jefferson hamer on electric guitar and voice and rachel ries on half-kit, wurlitzer, and voice. both of those guys are beautiful songwriters in their own right and have no business being in my band but they are doing it anyway and they will be opening some of the shows. rachel and i made a little vinyl project called country ep together in 2008 and jefferson & i are getting ready to record a collection of traditional ballads together in august so the whole thing is kind of all in the family and i can't wait, rachel actually learned to play drums for this tour!
we're doing shows in august in the pacific northwest and then some in early september in the midwest. "summer's end 2010". THEN, later in september, hadestown rides again, i'll be joined by hadestown arranger & orchestrator michael chorney and his beautiful sextet orchestra for some operatic happenings. oh also speaking of hadestown, i made a video with the awesome seattle-based clyde petersen, for the 'flowers' track from hadestown. it is debuting on spinner.com right now i think, check it out if you want: flowers
also, some lovely festivals, including michigan womyn's which is legendary, and, a benefit for my elementary school.
hope to see your shining face, xa
---
7.2.10
We're honored to announce that Anais will be working with the wonderful Paul Fenn of Asgard Promotions for UK/Europe booking! Paul books a ferociously talented group of artists including Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Richard Thompson. Wicked exciting.
---
6.25.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
right now i'm making a giant pinata for my friend's wedding in the shape of a carrot. hope they let me take it on the plane tomorrow to colorado. for you mountain people, bad and good news: the colorado springs show tomorrow night has been canceled, BUT i'm excited get to play in denver instead for the swallow hill guys who seem to be running a pretty amazing operation in denver. supporting famous scotsmen old blind dogs!
i'm honored to be sharing some shows this month with my good friends mike & ruthy who are both incredible songwriters and players and singers of songs! if you wanna see me, kristen andreassan and dinty child doing the last two verses of mike merenda's excellent song 'crutch', you can see it on youtube. we actually sang the whole thing but someone forgot to turn on the camera. you can see my debut on the spoons tho.
also very excited to do a bit of a sneak preview of me and jefferson hamer's traditional folk ballad project in-the-works at jalopy in brooklyn. lots of sex, pregnancy, death, elves n fairies in the ballads, you will not be disappointed.
also to open up for the beautiful low anthem again. of course i am forever indebted to ben knox miller of the low anthem, who plays the growly voiced hermes on the hadestown record!
hope to see you guys round. thanks for your ongoing support. love anais
---
5.27.10
ETOWN BRINGS LIVE RADIO SHOW TAPING EXPERIENCE BACK TO THE FLYNN THEATRE WITH MUSIC AND MORE FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM STEVE EARLE, ANAIS MITCHELL AND ALLISON MOORER Presented by ‘The Point,’ this event is held in conjunction with Slow Money’s national gathering Local hero Anais Mitchell will play selections from ‘Hadestown’ for eTown’s national audience at over 270 syndicated stations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Roger Menell, etown, 303-443-8696, roger@etown.org WHO: eTown Radio Show WHAT: eTown brings its unique radio variety show live to Burlington. Hosts Nick and Helen Forster lead the festivities which include a set of live music from each guest artist, up close and personal interviews and behind the scenes action. The show also features this week’s inspirational e-chievement award presentation to a community-based problem solver. WHERE: Flynn Center, 153 Main St., Burlington, 802-863-5966, www.flynntix.org WHEN: Wednesday June 9, 7:00 pm COST: $23.25 - $28.50, including preservation fee and box office charge Steve Earle is a prolific, populist singer/songwriter who has successfully blurred the lines between country, roots rock and even bluegrass. His latest release 'Townes' was honored with a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk category. This honor marks Earle's third consecutive Grammy win ('The Revolution Starts Now' and 'Washington Square Serenade' were both awarded the Grammy in the same category). About 'Townes' Earle says, "This may be one of the best records I've made. That hurts a singer-songwriter's feelings. Then again, it's some consolation that I cherry picked through the career of one of the best songwriters that ever lived." eTown is pleased to showcase Vermont native Anais Mitchell for its tremendous national listening audience. From her current home base in a 200-year-old farmhouse in rural Vermont, Anais Mitchell writes songs that are as intimate as conversations and as rich in detail as short stories. The daughter of 'hippie back-to-the-landers' whose father was a novelist and English professor, she remembers her family's home containing "a library full of novels and lots of old folk and psychedelic albums." No surprise then that the reference points of her music may seem to come from all over the map while still interconnected: the country ballads of the Carter Family, cabaret of Brecht and Weill, Randy Newman, Pink Floyd's The Wall and the intricately crafted tales of her namesake, bohemian feminist Anais Nin to name a few. All of these influences come together in 'Hadestown,' Mitchell's epic 'folk opera' retelling of the Orpheus myth, a new album made with an all-star cast including Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Greg Brown. Allison Moorer first captured significant attention with her song 'A Soft Place To Fall' in the 1998 film 'The Horse Whisperer.' Moorer appeared in the film as well and the song garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Moorer has been featured on releases by Joan Baez, Kid Rock, The Chieftains and Los Straightjackets' and has continued to appear in films and plays. Her new release 'Crows,' out on Ryko Records, has been praised by Billboard as a "sophisticated pop-flavored outing marked by intricate arrangements and delicate dynamics." Slow Money is a new way of connecting investors to local food systems. It’s a new way of connecting money, culture and the soil - a new kind of social investing and philanthropy for the 21st century. This emerging network of thought leaders, investors, donors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and activists from across the country gathers at Shelburne Farms on June 9 through June 11.
---
5.12.10
We're honored and excited to announce that Anaïs is joining the inspiring roster of the Monterey International booking agency! Josh Brinkman, you are awesome.
---
5.4.10
transcontinental revue show this week with the incomparable devon sproule from charlottesville, va! see anais cover devon's "1340 chesapeake st." below. show is thursday 5.6.10 8 pm langdon st. cafe montpelier, vt. special guests young republic...
8.28.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
just getting home from two weeks in vancouver with jefferson hamer and john raham, me n j finally recorded these british ballads we've been talking about forever. cannot wait to share with you but it will be awhile.
how are you guys? thanks for reading this thing. hey i have good news for the hadestown donors, the peter nevins linocuts are finished and they are absolutely stunning! so i will send your much much belated thank you gifts right away like next week! peter is a tremendous artist in case you haven't noticed here is his website. speaking of hadestown i am very excited to be doing two weekends of shows in the later part of the month with the hadestown orchestra/michael chorney sextet! at these special shows we will play the htown opera from start to finish, and you'll hear the beautiful orchestral arrangements of michael chorney for guitar drums bass cello viola and trombone. the band also opens most of these shows with michael's instrumental compositions.
and before that i'm hitting the road with my two friends again for pt. II of our summer's end 2010 tour, if you don't know them jefferson is a brooklyn based tele playing folkrockstar and rachel is a beautiful chicago based multi-instrumental prairie queen (ha that's funny cos it sounds like faerie queen) and they both sing circles around me which makes it so fun to sing with them. also we have some beautiful hand-silkscreened posters designed by our friend cassie jenkins, you gotta take them off my hands, or i'm gonna have to wallpaper a room with them, and they are way too beautiful for that.
as always i'm unspeakably grateful for your support. hope you're well, wishin you well, love, anais
---
7.27.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
this little kid came up to me and jefferson and one of the guys from low anthem in the lobby of a hotel yesterday in harrisburg and he said hey are you guys in a band?! and then he wanted to know which one. we didn't have our instruments and it made me feel funny and good that we just looked like musicians to this little kid. i told him we didn't have a band name yet cos i thought he would be disappointed if i said my name. i always wanted to be in a band called 'the bangs' or 'lovechild' but it hasn't happened yet.
speaking of bands i'm excited to be doing some shows in august and september with a small band made up of two of my dear friends, jefferson hamer on electric guitar and voice and rachel ries on half-kit, wurlitzer, and voice. both of those guys are beautiful songwriters in their own right and have no business being in my band but they are doing it anyway and they will be opening some of the shows. rachel and i made a little vinyl project called country ep together in 2008 and jefferson & i are getting ready to record a collection of traditional ballads together in august so the whole thing is kind of all in the family and i can't wait, rachel actually learned to play drums for this tour!
we're doing shows in august in the pacific northwest and then some in early september in the midwest. "summer's end 2010". THEN, later in september, hadestown rides again, i'll be joined by hadestown arranger & orchestrator michael chorney and his beautiful sextet orchestra for some operatic happenings. oh also speaking of hadestown, i made a video with the awesome seattle-based clyde petersen, for the 'flowers' track from hadestown. it is debuting on spinner.com right now i think, check it out if you want: flowers
also, some lovely festivals, including michigan womyn's which is legendary, and, a benefit for my elementary school.
hope to see your shining face, xa
---
7.2.10
We're honored to announce that Anais will be working with the wonderful Paul Fenn of Asgard Promotions for UK/Europe booking! Paul books a ferociously talented group of artists including Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Richard Thompson. Wicked exciting.
---
6.25.10
(from anais' monthly newsletter)
right now i'm making a giant pinata for my friend's wedding in the shape of a carrot. hope they let me take it on the plane tomorrow to colorado. for you mountain people, bad and good news: the colorado springs show tomorrow night has been canceled, BUT i'm excited get to play in denver instead for the swallow hill guys who seem to be running a pretty amazing operation in denver. supporting famous scotsmen old blind dogs!
i'm honored to be sharing some shows this month with my good friends mike & ruthy who are both incredible songwriters and players and singers of songs! if you wanna see me, kristen andreassan and dinty child doing the last two verses of mike merenda's excellent song 'crutch', you can see it on youtube. we actually sang the whole thing but someone forgot to turn on the camera. you can see my debut on the spoons tho.
also very excited to do a bit of a sneak preview of me and jefferson hamer's traditional folk ballad project in-the-works at jalopy in brooklyn. lots of sex, pregnancy, death, elves n fairies in the ballads, you will not be disappointed.
also to open up for the beautiful low anthem again. of course i am forever indebted to ben knox miller of the low anthem, who plays the growly voiced hermes on the hadestown record!
hope to see you guys round. thanks for your ongoing support. love anais
---
5.27.10
ETOWN BRINGS LIVE RADIO SHOW TAPING EXPERIENCE BACK TO THE FLYNN THEATRE WITH MUSIC AND MORE FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM STEVE EARLE, ANAIS MITCHELL AND ALLISON MOORER Presented by ‘The Point,’ this event is held in conjunction with Slow Money’s national gathering Local hero Anais Mitchell will play selections from ‘Hadestown’ for eTown’s national audience at over 270 syndicated stations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Roger Menell, etown, 303-443-8696, roger@etown.org WHO: eTown Radio Show WHAT: eTown brings its unique radio variety show live to Burlington. Hosts Nick and Helen Forster lead the festivities which include a set of live music from each guest artist, up close and personal interviews and behind the scenes action. The show also features this week’s inspirational e-chievement award presentation to a community-based problem solver. WHERE: Flynn Center, 153 Main St., Burlington, 802-863-5966, www.flynntix.org WHEN: Wednesday June 9, 7:00 pm COST: $23.25 - $28.50, including preservation fee and box office charge Steve Earle is a prolific, populist singer/songwriter who has successfully blurred the lines between country, roots rock and even bluegrass. His latest release 'Townes' was honored with a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk category. This honor marks Earle's third consecutive Grammy win ('The Revolution Starts Now' and 'Washington Square Serenade' were both awarded the Grammy in the same category). About 'Townes' Earle says, "This may be one of the best records I've made. That hurts a singer-songwriter's feelings. Then again, it's some consolation that I cherry picked through the career of one of the best songwriters that ever lived." eTown is pleased to showcase Vermont native Anais Mitchell for its tremendous national listening audience. From her current home base in a 200-year-old farmhouse in rural Vermont, Anais Mitchell writes songs that are as intimate as conversations and as rich in detail as short stories. The daughter of 'hippie back-to-the-landers' whose father was a novelist and English professor, she remembers her family's home containing "a library full of novels and lots of old folk and psychedelic albums." No surprise then that the reference points of her music may seem to come from all over the map while still interconnected: the country ballads of the Carter Family, cabaret of Brecht and Weill, Randy Newman, Pink Floyd's The Wall and the intricately crafted tales of her namesake, bohemian feminist Anais Nin to name a few. All of these influences come together in 'Hadestown,' Mitchell's epic 'folk opera' retelling of the Orpheus myth, a new album made with an all-star cast including Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Greg Brown. Allison Moorer first captured significant attention with her song 'A Soft Place To Fall' in the 1998 film 'The Horse Whisperer.' Moorer appeared in the film as well and the song garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Moorer has been featured on releases by Joan Baez, Kid Rock, The Chieftains and Los Straightjackets' and has continued to appear in films and plays. Her new release 'Crows,' out on Ryko Records, has been praised by Billboard as a "sophisticated pop-flavored outing marked by intricate arrangements and delicate dynamics." Slow Money is a new way of connecting investors to local food systems. It’s a new way of connecting money, culture and the soil - a new kind of social investing and philanthropy for the 21st century. This emerging network of thought leaders, investors, donors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and activists from across the country gathers at Shelburne Farms on June 9 through June 11.
---
5.12.10
We're honored and excited to announce that Anaïs is joining the inspiring roster of the Monterey International booking agency! Josh Brinkman, you are awesome.
---
5.4.10
transcontinental revue show this week with the incomparable devon sproule from charlottesville, va! see anais cover devon's "1340 chesapeake st." below. show is thursday 5.6.10 8 pm langdon st. cafe montpelier, vt. special guests young republic...
---
4.13.10
3rd show added to GREATER BOSTON SINGS HADESTOWN at club passim in cambridge, MA!
If you couldn't get tix to the 8 pm shows, come rock out with us at 10:30 pm on thursday night 4.15!
---
4.12.10
GREATER BOSTON SINGS HADESTOWN
our htown release tour continues w/ the hadestown orchestra/michael chorney sextet! and we are especially excited about two shows we're doing this week at the legendary club passim in cambridge, MA on 4.15 & 4.16 because we will be joined by the following unbelievable greater boston cast:
PETER MULVEY AS ORPHEUS
TIM GEARAN AS HADES
KRIS DELMHORST AS PERSEPHONE
DINTY CHILD AS HERMES
ROSE POLENZANI, ANNE HEATON, & MELISSA MYERS AS THE FATES
omg! is this really happening? see you there!
---
3.22.10
HADESTOWN release tour featuring
the Hadestown Orchestra/Michael Chorney sextet!
guys, this is going to be very special and fun
a sonic adventure and a long-awaited celebration!
anais will be joined at a series of shows around the northeast this spring
by guitarist michael chorney (who wrote the score for hadestown!)
and a small orchestra including:
geza carr on drums
robinson morse on bass
polly vanderputten/nelson caldwell on cello
adam "pickles" moss on viola
andrew moroz on trombone
and at at least one show we also be joined by producer extraordinaire todd sickafoose on piano
AND our two cambridge shows will feature special singers from the greater boston scene
more on that later!
most of these shows will begin with a short set of instrumental compositions by michael chorney sextet
then we put on our hadestown hats and play the whole opera start to finish
here are the dates with the band:
3.28~ iron horse~ northampton, ma
4.9~ higher ground~ burlington, vt
4.10~ marlboro college~ marlboro, vt
4.15~ club passim~ cambridge, ma
4.16~ club passim~ cambridge, ma
4.17~ one longfellow~ portland, me
4.23~ joe's pub~ new york, ny
4.24~ tin angel~ philly, pa
4.25~ jammin java~ DC
4.30~ bard college~ annandale, ny
5.1~ woodstock town hall~ woodstock, vt
hope you can join us for these special nights.
---
3.8.10
HELLO WORLD
tomorrow 3.9.10 is the official release date of HADESTOWN!
a folk opera
a record of a folk opera
a creative rabbit hole some of us have been plumbing for a few years now
a labor of love on the part of many people
we are very very very excited!
hope you enjoy exploring the new cyberhome of hadestown
designed by the fantastic: weinland creative
featuring art by the singular: peter nevins
hope you find lots of practical n delightful information
and that you come back and back and back to visit
more stuff coming all the time
THANK YOU
---
3.6.10
NPR!
holy wow, check out scott simon's weekend edition interview with anais about the upcoming hadestown release! it aired around 9:45 this morning. preorder the album from RBR here.
---
2.22.10
guys~
It is with great great great excitement and gratitude that we announce the upcoming release of HADESTOWN! I am gonna write a huge letter about the project soon, what it is, who is involved, and other fun facts, but for now just wanted to give a heads up that the album is available for pre-order from RBR NOW [click here] and there are tracks streaming on myspace, facebook, etc. if you want a little preview.
love,
anais!
---
4.13.10
3rd show added to GREATER BOSTON SINGS HADESTOWN at club passim in cambridge, MA!
If you couldn't get tix to the 8 pm shows, come rock out with us at 10:30 pm on thursday night 4.15!
---
4.12.10
GREATER BOSTON SINGS HADESTOWN
our htown release tour continues w/ the hadestown orchestra/michael chorney sextet! and we are especially excited about two shows we're doing this week at the legendary club passim in cambridge, MA on 4.15 & 4.16 because we will be joined by the following unbelievable greater boston cast:
PETER MULVEY AS ORPHEUS
TIM GEARAN AS HADES
KRIS DELMHORST AS PERSEPHONE
DINTY CHILD AS HERMES
ROSE POLENZANI, ANNE HEATON, & MELISSA MYERS AS THE FATES
omg! is this really happening? see you there!
---
3.22.10
HADESTOWN release tour featuring
the Hadestown Orchestra/Michael Chorney sextet!
guys, this is going to be very special and fun
a sonic adventure and a long-awaited celebration!
anais will be joined at a series of shows around the northeast this spring
by guitarist michael chorney (who wrote the score for hadestown!)
and a small orchestra including:
geza carr on drums
robinson morse on bass
polly vanderputten/nelson caldwell on cello
adam "pickles" moss on viola
andrew moroz on trombone
and at at least one show we also be joined by producer extraordinaire todd sickafoose on piano
AND our two cambridge shows will feature special singers from the greater boston scene
more on that later!
most of these shows will begin with a short set of instrumental compositions by michael chorney sextet
then we put on our hadestown hats and play the whole opera start to finish
here are the dates with the band:
3.28~ iron horse~ northampton, ma
4.9~ higher ground~ burlington, vt
4.10~ marlboro college~ marlboro, vt
4.15~ club passim~ cambridge, ma
4.16~ club passim~ cambridge, ma
4.17~ one longfellow~ portland, me
4.23~ joe's pub~ new york, ny
4.24~ tin angel~ philly, pa
4.25~ jammin java~ DC
4.30~ bard college~ annandale, ny
5.1~ woodstock town hall~ woodstock, vt
hope you can join us for these special nights.
---
3.8.10
HELLO WORLD
tomorrow 3.9.10 is the official release date of HADESTOWN!
a folk opera
a record of a folk opera
a creative rabbit hole some of us have been plumbing for a few years now
a labor of love on the part of many people
we are very very very excited!
hope you enjoy exploring the new cyberhome of hadestown
designed by the fantastic: weinland creative
featuring art by the singular: peter nevins
hope you find lots of practical n delightful information
and that you come back and back and back to visit
more stuff coming all the time
THANK YOU
---
3.6.10
NPR!
holy wow, check out scott simon's weekend edition interview with anais about the upcoming hadestown release! it aired around 9:45 this morning. preorder the album from RBR here.
---
2.22.10
guys~
It is with great great great excitement and gratitude that we announce the upcoming release of HADESTOWN! I am gonna write a huge letter about the project soon, what it is, who is involved, and other fun facts, but for now just wanted to give a heads up that the album is available for pre-order from RBR NOW [click here] and there are tracks streaming on myspace, facebook, etc. if you want a little preview.
love,
anais!
---
opera 1 |ˈäp(ə)rə|
noun
a dramatic work in one or more acts, set to music for singers and instrumentalists.
folk |fōk|
1 adjective [ attrib. ] of or relating to the traditional art or culture of acommunity or nation
• relating to or originating from the beliefs and opinions of ordinarypeople
2 of or relating to folk music
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