Anais Mitchell, a Vermont and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and the Tony award-winning creator of the Broadway musical Hadestown, is coming to Leeds, and if the critics’ words are our guide, then she’s not one to be missed:
“Ms. Mitchell’s songs address contemporary angst with uncanny vision….. a formidable songwriting talent” THE NEW YORK TIMES
“One of the greatest songwriters of her generation” NPR
“A national treasure; one of our great modern singer-songwriters” TIME OUT
“The most engaging, and in some ways, most original artist currently working in the field of new American ‘folk ’music” INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
“A charismatic live performer, and a songwriter of exceptional imagination and perception” THE GUARDIAN
“Terrific….. Mitchell is a skilled storyteller….. and her delivery gives an emotional complexity that welcomes and even demands repeated listens.” PITCHFORK
“Mitchell is writing material that stands comparison with the great singer-songwriters of the past few decades” DAILY TELEGRAPH
After recording for Righteous Babe Records for several years, Anais started her own label, Wilderland, in 2012. She has headlined shows worldwide and won the Folk Alliance 2018 Spirit of Folk Award. Her six full-length albums include Hadestown, her folk opera based on the Orpheus myth. Hadestown the stage show took over ten years to make and opened at The National Theatre in 2018 before transferring to Broadway in 2019. The show won 8 Tony awards, and for Anais, Best Musical and Best Score.
Those looking for a common thread in her work will realise Anais is as interested in the world around her as the one inside her. She has a way of tackling big themes with the same emotional intimacy most artists use to describe their inner lives. So – Anais at The Brudenell on 21 August should prove to be yet another unforgettable gig.
Photograph by Sherwin Lainez.
