Laura Stevenson + Rachel Hillary

We’re delighted to be bringing Laura Stevenson back to Manchester – her first visit since 2011 - who is touring her new album, Wheel.

Though Stevenson began writing classically on piano early on, it wasn’t until her late teens that she taught herself how to fingerpick the guitar, aspiring to have the quickness and intricacy of her ‘guitar god’, Dolly Parton. The new instrument opened up a window of creativity and Stevenson soon began writing songs heavily influenced by the writers her father had raised her on, such as Neil Young, Gram Parsons and Carole King, while also drawing inspiration from music that she discovered on her own like Leonard Cohen and Jeff Mangum. In 2010, she released her bare-bones full-length debut simply entitled A Record, which she quickly followed the year after with Sit Resist, the first solid document of her work playing with a full band. Those two albums and a healthy amount of touring brought Stevenson a dedicated fan base, drawn to her voice, her words, and her relatable down-to-earth persona.

While writing the 13 songs that make-up her newest record, Wheel, Stevenson sought to understand her place within the frame of time, nature, and among those that she loves. With her words, a careful twine of prose and humour, Stevenson manages to expose the nagging contradictions that make life so terrifying but also so worth living, how it is possible to simultaneously feel both fear and joy, the bitter aftertaste of something so beautiful it makes you sick.

Support comes from Rachel Hillary. Describing her music as ‘poetry set to song’, Rachel Hillary has much in common with other nu-folk artists and her live performance sees her surrounded by any combination of ukuleles, mandolins, djembe drums and banjos.

This show takes place in the Annexe of Cornerhouse, Manchester’s main cultural hub, situated on Oxford Road.

Price: £7 adv
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