A decade ago, 24-year-old Texas native Annie Clark was gearing up to perform as part of Sufjan Steven's band. Now, under the stage name St. Vincent, she’s making history as the first solo female Grammy Award winner for best alternative music in the last 20 years.
If you’ve listened to her before or seen her perform on a variety of late night talks shows, you know that St. Vincent isn't fucking around when it comes to precision and performance. Clark uses her incredible voice, her feisty, provocative glamour, and her stylized '90s-pop-inspired outfits to take the stage with ownership, break gender rules, and take career risks that pay off big. Raised on Nirvana and Pearl Jam, as a self-proclaimed liberal she uses her past and her present to be a politically active artist. You just might get the gist of her essence when you hear her call Donald Trump "a cartoon yeast infection."
St. Vincent kicked off her solo career and a very busy ten years with her debut album, Marry Me, in 2007. She followed it up with Actor in 2009, Strange Mercy in 2011, and St. Vincent in 2014. Last year, in 2017, the electro-pop-rock artist gave us Masseduction, which could be her best yet. With this latest release came an array of over-the-top music videos, with vibes straight out of the MTV days. Her single "Los Ageless" is a stroke of lyrical genius that paints a picture of the "Hollywood epidemic of cosmetic perfection." Clark blends driving beats, smooth vocals, and theatrical energy into perfect harmony throughout Masseduction.
With an endearing personality and a triumphant message, she reinvigorates that musical technicality that can get so exhausting in modern pop music. Did I mention she just won a Grammy? If there's one artist coming to town that you'll regret not seeing, it's St. Vincent.
When: Thursday, January 11, 8 PM
Where: Taft Theatre
How much: $55 and up
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