Adrianne Lenker has followed her astonishing Grammy- and BRIT-nominated solo album, Bright Future, with a 120-minute immersive album entitled Live at Revolution Hall. This sonic documentary combines audio from 3 days of the 2024 Bright Future tour and features live performances of fan favourites, deep cuts and unreleased gems, including ‘happiness’ which was recently released.
LISTEN: ‘happiness’
Adrianne Lenker thinks all her songs are love songs. On ‘born for loving you’, captured on her new live album, Live at Revolution Hall, Adrianne tells an audience in Portland, Oregon that as far as love goes, she is trying to get to the, “What is this?” Unable to explain, she concludes, “This is why I’m glad there are songs.”
She then sings, “After the first stars formed. After the dinos fell. After the first light flickered out of this motel…”
A collection of performances and moments captured from her 2024 Bright Future tour, the 42 tracks have a delicate fidelity that laces warble with clarity. Engineer, Andrew Sarlo, lifts us off our feet to float cinematically, at times onstage, then over the crowd, through walls, and even out the door. The album is less a document than a painted memory. How else could Sarlo capture the alert affection of the players? Adrianne’s friendship with Josefin Runsteen and Nick Hakim illuminates the mix. Nick’s piano and Josefin’s violin, along with their harmonies, enchanted this tour. Those who came out for these shows will enjoy returning in this spacious way.
There were sing-alongs, every rhyme respected. Small ta-da’s chimed while Adrianne tuned her guitar. Silence was honoured and patience rewarded. There were palm-sized stories. Encores stacked the set-list high. Laughter would nova through the crowd, proving the physics of belonging.
On track 36, Nick’s piano takes steps towards flight, Josefin makes ripples with her bow, and Adrianne speaks to the audience. “Here we are for a brief infinite moment together in this room. Everything has led up to this point. And we’re together.”
In this collection of Adrianne’s songs, love scales boundlessly. From two hands clapping to the weave of the cosmos, what can’t be said is sung. She draws maps on the sheets of time’s rumpled bed: birth, mother’s tears, a soul undressed in the desert, gifts from lovers, family, friendships, days of swimming, home fires, her dog Oso. And that’s why we all came out. We needed a long list to prove what we suspected while alone. Gathered shoulder-to-shoulder, we were certain. It’s all love songs.
Live at Revolution Hall has been released digitally and on double cassette (limited to 500 copies) For more information head HERE.
Thank you to all those who have come out to the shows over time. This live record encapsulates the essence of the thing we’ve been cultivating together since I played my first live show when I was a kid all the way until now, and now whenever that now is exactly now and now. Here is a little lighting in a jar, a capture of the spirit of all shows I’ve ever played and ever will play. The music is alive, and the magic of recording is letting us get close to that spark at anytime, anywhere, and if we want to – over and over again.
I feel unending gratitude for the role you play as an audience. I can always feel your hearts at the shows, and that keeps me going. The love you bring is powerful. Thank you for showing up.
Thank you to my dear life-long friend, Andrew, for asking me if he could tag along for a few days and make this record. I didn’t know then how much it would come to mean to me. I never got to hear what was happening in this way, because of being so close to it. Listening back to all the laughter, the whoops and hollers, the sighs, tears, and everything that we share at these concerts is beautiful to me, and reminds me of why I make the journey outward. The magic is in the sharing openly for a brief moment in time together, letting it all flow through. It’s healing. Thanks Andrew for this loving embrace and reflection – where the humor about life is just as vital as the tears.
And thank you with all my heart to that Eternal Elusive Wild and Wondrous Spirit of Love which I follow and will follow forever through song.
-Adrianne Lenker
Photo Credit: Noah LenkerIt was impossible to do this album without the immense love and respect I have for my friend.
Watching the power of the music disarm and permeate feels a bit like an “I told ya so” but I am still
amazed every time. From the sidelines I cheer.
This live album is another generous offering from Adrianne. Performing a myriad of songs; some new,
some rare, some favorites, and beyond in front of an audience and behind the scenes.
Clocking in around 120 minutes featuring songs & vignettes recorded exclusively on reel to reel and
cassette tape, there was an attempt to create a different spin on what a live album could
- Recorded over the span of 3-days while on the “Bright Future” tour, we put friendship at the
focal point making this a loving memento from one friend to another.
Consider closing your eyes, getting cozy, and listening as if you are watching a film! (active listening is
rewarded by uncovering layers of details within the captures…)
Happily listening,
Andrew Sarlo
Adrianne Lenker – Live at Revolution Hall
4AD
Tracklist:
- hello, i love you & blue lightning
- – door & how are you? –
- little things
- happiness
- cut my hair
- time escaping & wild whistling
- cattails & soundcheck
- ruined
- – nick & josefin –
- symbol
- real house
- indiana & sneezing
- – now westlin winds –
- i do love you
- – brief message for adrianne –
- heavy focus
- vampire empire
- – lady midnight, i’ll tape you back together –
- born for loving you
- i will always love you
- – noah –
- spud infinity
- – oso –
- promise is a pendulum
- – backwards intermission –
- evol (kcehc)
- fangs
- oldest
- sadness as a gift
- – drawing a star –
- orange
- two reverse
- free treasure & fire trucks
- ripples & happy birthday alice
- fool
- not a lot, just forever
- – naljf & crowd –
- no limit
- donut seam
- zombie girl
- – happy birthday everyone –
- anything
- wake me up to drive
Praise for Adrianne Lenker
“Heir to Dylan.” – The Sunday Times
“One of this generation’s most potent songwriters.” – NME
“With her sandpaper voice, fragile yet steely, and simple melodic songs imbued with poetic mystery, Lenker played solo acoustic guitar and brought to mind a modern, female equivalent of the young Bob Dylan.” – The Times
“Even performing solo, Lenker is an orchestra onto herself … She is a masterful storyteller, and her lyrics, like her instrumentals, can be impressionistic, but it is the small, personal details that can grab and emotionally throttle you.” – Brooklyn Vegan
“Tonight is profound and playful; during the silences and singing, we’re together. It’s a gift.” – The Skinny *****
“Lenker’s delicate voice and masterful guitar captivated her audience, who listened on in quiet reverence.” – The Sun *****
ADRIANNE LENKER ONLINE:
adriannelenker.com
Instagram: @adriannelenker
Facebook: @adriannelenkermusic
Twitter: @AdrianneLenker
