Adrianne Lenker

Adrianne Lenker has spent her career moving between two worlds: the lead vocals and guitar she brings to Big Thief, and a solo catalogue that runs alongside it. Born in Indianapolis but raised largely in Minnesota, she learned guitar from her father, a songwriter who taught her unconventional chords alongside the basics, and wrote her first song at eight. Her writing stays close to home. NPR has called her lyrics unequivocal and deeply personal, while Juan Edgardo Rodríguez of PopMatters hears a narrator who inhabits her stories rather than standing outside them.

Her solo run began in 2006 with Stages of the Sun, released when she was 14. Abysskiss followed in 2018, built from songs written on tour with Big Thief. During the pandemic she recorded Songs and Instrumentals, two albums issued by 4AD in October 2020 without digital processing. Bright Future, her sixth studio album, came out in March 2024 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.