Cristina Vane / Rachel Baiman

July 29th, 8:00 pm

Italian-born Cristina Vane sees her American dream realized on her debut record, Nowhere Sounds Lovely. In capturing the artist’s first tour across the U.S, the record chronicles Vane becoming acquainted with the intricacies of American music; from sea to shining sea. Leaning heavily on old school rock and pre-war blues, Vane’s songwriting explores gospel, bluegrass, delta blues, country and even waltzes, resulting in a patchwork quilt of influences, both old and new.[…] Though she may not be a United States native – admittedly still referring to herself as an outsider – Vane captures the sound and essence of American music to a T. From amber waves of grain to purple mountain majesties, Nowhere Sounds Lovely proves that Vane is more ingrained in western culture and music than many who’ve lived it their entire lives. (2021)

Rachel Baiman

“When I was a kid, my dad was in this tiny fringe political group called the Democratic Socialists of America” explains songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Baiman. “That was considered extreme, something I didn’t tell my friends about. Now my generation has had to wake up to the intensity of our own economic oppression. We sit around talking about how anyone affords to buy a house, and how we can get rich people to pay for our albums”, she laughs
Baiman finds hope in this shared experience as a mechanism for activism. On Common Nation of Sorrow, Baiman’s third LP, she tells stories of American capitalism, and the individual and communal devastation it manifests. “The reality is that the vastmajority of us are being taken advantage of by the same brutal economic and political systems. Maybe that shared oppression is a place in which we can meet and fightback”, she explains.In contrast with her previous work, Baiman is the sole producer of Common Nation of Sorrow, which she recorded in her hometown of Nashville. She leans heavily into her bluegrass and old-time sensibilities on this new record. “In some ways, this is a homecoming project for me”, she says. “I wanted to explore these songs based on who and where I am right now, with the town and the people who have raised me musically using the music from the place I’m singing about “.