Skip to main content
In 1967 in New York City, but Gillian Welch eventually made her way to Nashville where her minimalist country/bluegrass/folk sound took root and flowered.
Sounds like: Dorothea Lange's WPA-financed photographs from the Depression taking musical form.
For fans of: The Anthology of American Folk Music, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
Latest release: The Harrow & The Harvest, a devastatingly beautiful and thorny collection of intense folk that arrived after an eight-year stretch of failed songwriting and recording attempts.
Why you care: It's the voice. Whether on her own or in closely-knit harmony with music partner David Rawlings, Welch has a perfectly twangy alto that cuts right to the bone. So inspiring and intoxicating a voice that everyone from Robyn Hitchcock to the Decemberists have enlisted it to help enrich their Americana-inspired musical efforts. But when Welch enlists her voice for her own songs, she draws from the rich history of folk, pulling out characters like the âOrphan Girlâ of her first album, Revival, and singing of the âHard Timesâ and the âDark Turn of Mindâ on The Harrow that speaks to some collective American sorrow.
In concert, gently strumming an acoustic guitar or picking at a banjo, Welch's voice will have you weak-kneed and agape at its simple power and allure.
SEE IT: Gillian Welch plays Tuesday, July 12, at the Roseland Theater. 8 pm. $27.50 advance, $30 day of show. All ages.
WWeek 2015