In 2009, for one week, Sharon Van Etten locked herself up in the basement of her Brooklyn apartment complex, armed with votes of confidence—from critics, from TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone, from The Antlers, who even invited her to contribute vocals to last year's critical darling, Hospice. She also had a harmonium.
Van Etten once feared [...]

A semi-regular look at music festival news, rumors, and gossip
2009 Umbrella Music Festival: Our pals over at the Chicago Reader noted in their ’09 Fall Arts Guide that the Umbrella Music Festival “is eclipsed only by the Chicago Jazz Festival as the most impressive and adventurous jazz event of the year.” Since those guys seem [...]