A few months ago a friend and I decided we wanted to see some music, but wanted to avoid the hustle and bustle of large venues playing pop music, so we decided to test our luck and head over to The Hideout. In case you haven’t been to The Hideout, I highly suggest making a visit, I’ve added a little blurb at the end about it.
But I’ve digressed. We arrived, and the moment we walked in, we knew we had chosen the right place to see some music. We got there just as the first act of the night was finishing up, so we found ourselves a spot towards the back of the small room against the back wall, still plenty close to the stage though (it’s a smaller, but absolutely great venue). A woman named Marisa Anderson took the stage wielding a Stratocaster, so for some reason I prepared myself for some southern rock (don’t know why). What I was got was some of the most beautiful Appalachian folk music and finger picking I’ve ever heard.
Marisa Anderson absolutely blew me away, I had never heard such imagery come from an electric guitar but, she did it. I would rather not do her music any injustice by trying to further describe it, but she is releasing a new album this Friday, June 24th, and NPR has graced us with a First Listen. LISTEN TO IT HERE.
On her newest release, ‘Into the Light’ Anderson leaves Appalachia and the Delta blues behind as she journeys west, into the heart of the sun. Written as the soundtrack to an imaginary science-fiction western film, the record’s ten songs trace the story of a visitor lost and wandering on the shifting borderlands of the Sonoran desert. ‘Into the Light’ is shimmering and cinematic, the pieces built around pedal steel, lap steel and electric piano as well as Anderson’s signature guitar sound.
Watch Marisa Anderson’s, NPR Tiny Desk Concert Below
Marisa Anderson channels the history of the guitar and stretches the boundaries of tradition. Her playing is fluid, emotional, and masterful, featuring compositions and improvisations that re-imagine the landscape of American music. Her deeply original work applies elements of minimalism, electronic music, drone and 20thcentury classical music to compositions based on blues, jazz, gospel and country music
*The Hideout is the last hold-out of the rebel club. It is located in the center of the industrial corridor along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Born as a 19th Century Shanty, straight from the mud by ditch-digging Irishmen with dirty boots and hats, always hats, pushed aside by the nickel and dime Prohibition Era Sicilian button men. The Hideout is a regular guy bar for irregular folks who just don’t fit in, or just don’t want to fit in.