Sharon van Etten, Shepherd's Bush Empire

Sharon van Etten’s music has an emotional honesty that few contemporary singer-songwriters can match: through song, she lays bare her pain. Beautifully crafted melodies, mainly in a minor-key, match with forlorn lyrics:"You enjoy sucking on dreams,/ so I will fall asleep with someone other than you" and "Tell me there’s something I can change/ Recall I know what a sanctuary is/ Help me deserve you"
While her core is found in American folk music, her songcraft is incredibly versatile, ranging from delicate torch songs to cathartic rockers. Travelling to support her forth album Are We There (2014), she’s playing at the Shepherd Bush’s 02 Empire for the final night of her tour.
Whilst living in Brooklyn, van Etten began to pursue a career and soon became a live fixture, enchanting rooms with her melodies and voice. Debut Because I Was In Love (2008), written in the aftermath of a relationship turned sour, analyzed the bittersweet twists and turns of such a travail. The follow-up, epic (2010), was short in length but vast in range, from the stormy opener ‘A Crime’ to the sun-kissed ‘One Day.’ It was with the superb Tramp (2012), however, that van Etten finally reached a wider audience. Although the sound is more polished, it also boasts harsher edges and richer contrasts than ever before. We Are There, produced by van Etten herself, might just be her best record yet, restoring the intimacy of her debut to the sonic fullness of more recent albums.
Sam Amidon offers support. Well-schooled in the history of American music, his music combines the earthy clout of traditional folk with contemporary arrangements. Anchoring all is his voice – youthful yet world-weary, gentle yet steely, always captivating. A regular collaborator with the likes of Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, Amidon promises to be an unmissable opener.