Danish singer/songwriter Agnes Obel took up the piano at a very young age, honing her craft amidst the strains of Bartok and Chopin emanating from the fingers of her musician mother. She drew inspiration from the work of Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson, and it was between those two worlds that her own sound began to emerge. Citing influences as diverse as PJ Harvey and Claude DeBussy, the artist draws comparisons to the likes of Ane Brun, Eva Cassidy, and Joni Mitchell. Pure, austere, and remarkably poised, she plays with a pristine mix of instrumentals and atmospheric, melancholy balladry, making her both a critical and commercial success—especially in her native Denmark, where her first record went double platinum.
Opening act Ethan Gruska's solo debut, the luminous Slowmotionary, embraces a range of sounds and styles, with influences from jazz and folk to ambient and alternative. Slowmotionary integrates everything into a whole that is original, idiosyncratic, and embraces its own imperfections.
Tickets $25