Adrianne Lenker
Lenker performing with Big Thief in 2018
Background information
Birth nameAdrianne Elizabeth Lenker
Born (1991-07-09) July 9, 1991
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
OriginPlymouth, Minnesota
GenresFolk
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active2006–present
Labels
Websiteadriannelenker.com

Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief.

Early life

Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian cult until the age of four,[1][2] but primarily grew up in Minnesota. Her parents rented homes in Coon Rapids, Nisswa, and Bloomington, Minnesota, before settling down in Plymouth, Minnesota, where she lived for 10 years, excluding a brief time spent in Santa Cruz, California. She spent a summer traveling throughout the midwest and living out of a Ford cargo van.[3]

Lenker wrote her first song at the age of eight, and recorded her first album at age 13.[3] Her other interests included studying martial arts, and she was the state karate champion three years in a row. She moved to Santa Cruz for a year and a half, living with a family friend and working at a local McDonalds. She dropped out of Santa Cruz High School halfway into her sophomore year, moved back to Plymouth, and got her GED at the age of 16.[3] She attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship provided by Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band.[4]

Career

Lenker in 2017

On February 28, 2006, when Lenker was 14, she released her first solo album, Stages of the Sun.[5] On January 9, 2014, Lenker released her second solo album, Hours Were the Birds.[6]

On May 1, 2014, Lenker, together with future bandmate Buck Meek, released the LP records a-sides and b-sides.[7] In 2015, Lenker and Meek, alongside Max Oleartchik and James Krivchenia, formed the band Big Thief, whose first album was released in 2016.[8]

Lenker released her third solo album, Abysskiss, on October 5, 2018.[9][10]

On October 23, 2020, Lenker released her two most recent albums, Songs and Instrumentals.[11]

Personal life

Lenker met the future Big Thief co-founder Buck Meek at a concert when she lived in Boston, and then she encountered him again in a bodega the day she moved to New York.[12][8] The pair began to play together, and married when Lenker was 24.[12] They divorced in 2018, remaining in Big Thief as "deep friends".[12] In 2019, Lenker was in a relationship with the artist Indigo Sparke, and the two separated sometime in 2020.[12][13][14]

While Lenker is comfortable with the label "queer", she has expressed a desire not to define her sexual orientation beyond that.[12] Her lyrics often contain discussions of gender and the gender binary. In an interview with The Brag, Lenker said of those lyrics, "I feel within myself a constant dialogue between my masculinity, my femininity and the part of me that is neither of those things. I'm just trying to talk about it because I feel like I'm something that is very ambiguous."[15]

Discography

Adrianne Lenker discography
Studio albums5
Live albums1
Compilation albums1
EPs2
Singles1

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Folk
[16]		 US
Heat
[17]		 US
Indie
[18]		 US
Sales
[19]
Stages of the Sun
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: LucidTunes
  • Formats: CD
 ————
Hours Were the Birds ————
Abysskiss
  • Released: October 5, 2018
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
 —1039—
Songs
  • Released: October 23, 2020
  • Label: 4AD
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
 1211—43
Instrumentals

Live albums

Title Details
Live at the Southern
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: LucidTunes
  • Formats: CD

Compilation albums

Title Details
a-sides and b-sides (with Buck Meek)
  • Released: November 16, 2018
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: LP, CD

Extended plays

Title Details
a-sides (with Buck Meek)
  • Released: May 1, 2014
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
b-sides (with Buck Meek)
  • Released: May 1, 2014
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Album
"Cradle" 2018 Abysskiss
"Symbol"
"From"
"Anything" 2020 Songs
"Dragon Eyes"
"Ruined" 2023 TBA
Title Year Album
"Carousel"
(Ginla featuring Adrianne Lenker)		 2022 Everything

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2020 Grammy Awards Best Alternative Music Album U.F.O.F. Nominated [20]
2021 Best Rock Song "Not" Nominated
Best Rock Performance Nominated
2023 Best Alternative Music Performance "Certainty" Nominated
Best Alternative Music Album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Mapes, Jillian (April 6, 2017). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Is One of a Kind". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra (May 2019). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker: 'We're all brainwashed'". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Schonfeld, Zach (October 10, 2018). "Adrianne Lenker on Big Thief's Success and Her Intimate New Solo Album, 'abysskiss'". Newsweek. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  4. ↑ Tedder, Michael (September 24, 2019). "Big Thief's Big Year". Stereogum. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ Dwyer, Michael (December 18, 2016). "Stealing destiny, Big Thief trust the music and themselves". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ Turner-Heffer, Adam. "Adrianne Lenker: abysskiss". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  7. ↑ Naddaff-Hafrey, Benjamin (November 9, 2017). "The Lore of Big Thief". NPR. NPR Music. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  8. 1 2 O'Neill, Lauren (May 2019). "A Pensive Trip to the Museum with Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker". Vice. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ Claymore, Gabriela (September 24, 2018). "Adrianne Lenker Leans into The Abyss". Stereogum. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  10. ↑ Boilen, Bob. "Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief On 'abysskiss' And How Songs Can Heal". NPR.org. NPR Music. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  11. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (September 2, 2020). "Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker Announces Two Solo Albums Made in Quarantine". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Petrusich, Amanda (October 12, 2020). "Adrianne Lenker's Radical Honesty". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  13. ↑ Barlow, Eve (May 1, 2019). "Big Thief's exploratory folk is alternately intimate and expansive on 'U.F.O.F.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  14. ↑ Boilen, Bob (February 26, 2020). "Indigo Sparke: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  15. ↑ Quinn, Belinda (August 1, 2018). "With Capacity, Adrianne Lenker is challenging what it means to be human". The Brag. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker Chart History: Top Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Adrianne Lenker | Artist". grammy.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
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