Cristina Vane
Thursday July 16, 20268:00pm
$20 advance / $25 door
More than a mere practitioner of her craft, Cristina Vane has a breadth and depth of serious musical skill compiled from countless miles across all kinds of geography. On her third studio album 'Hear My Call,' the pairing of a lifetime pursuit and growing treasure trove of songs makes for a record that demands to be heard.
Her sound reflects and amalgam of experiences; born at the foothills of the alps in Italy and raised between Italy, England and France, Cristina's half American -- half Guatemalan heritage is as unique as her sound. She is a product of a merging of numerous worlds- her classic rock, 90s indie, and heavier roots with her passion for prewar blues, old time fiddle banjo music, country and bluegrass. Rolling Stone described her early single Badlands as "evocative of a young Bonnie Raitt and early PJ Harvey [...] entrancing stuff".
A deft multi-instrumentalist and captivating vocalist, she began writing songs and playing guitar in her teens, before the power of slide guitar captured her attention one summer in London and changed the course of her sound. After graduating from Princeton University, Vane moved to Los Angeles with a dream to pursue her constant passion, music. There, inspired by Rory Block, Skip James, and Blind Willie Johnson, she began teaching herself slide in open tunings and found herself working at folk staple McCabe's guitar shop where the universe conspired in her favor by putting under the tutelage of her fingerstyle guitar mentor, Pete Steinberg. It was also at McCabe's that Vane began her journey on the clawhammer banjo, and continued to busk on the Venice Boardwalk, putting in countless hours of practice to become closer to the powerhouse performer she is today.
After four years in Los Angeles, Vane felt the itch to move. True to her industrious and fearless nature, she used her small social media following at the time to crowd sourced her first tour, which she called "Show Me Your Hometown Tour" and describes as one of the most transformative experiences of her life. Six months of living out of her tent, car, and strangers couches, she dove into life on the road with a gusto that culminated in her moving to Nashville and recording her first studio album- "Nowhere Sounds Lovely", recorded by Grammy award winning producer and drummer Cactus Moser (Wynonna Judd, Noelline Hoffman). Her second full length album came a year later, recorded at The Studio by Brook Sutton and coproduced with Jano Rix (Wood Brothers).
This third album is different, though. In some ways, it retains the musical diversity of the first two- Vane refuses to bend herself into a box, writing excellent bluegrass songs that exist cohesively alongside her blues, rock, and hill country blues inspired tunes. But she feels differently now- a decade of finding herself has brought her full circle; in her words, " "When it came to the album, I wanted it to be a reflection of who I am, not just of the old music that I've come to love", she explains, "and I'm essentially a rock kid who is obsessed with old music. After being exposed to all of this music that was foreign to me, I am slowly figuring out how to find my own voice within it. It is the sound of growing up."
Recorded with Brook Sutton at The Studio, she had her touring band come in to reflect the reality of what she spends her year doing as a nationally touring artist, and features exciting co-writes with Mike Harris (Old Crow Medicine Show) and Silas Lowe, as well as guest features from Molly Tuttle, JD Simo, Kenny Vaughan, Bronwyn Keith Hines and Brenna MacMillan.
Cristina has an extensive touring history and has provided direct support for: Molly Tuttle, Bob Weir, Jerry Douglas, Wynonna Judd, Sam Bush, Nikki Lane, Town Mountain, Duane Betts Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, Arlo McKinley, and Willi Carlisle. She has been mentioned in Rolling Stone Country and NPR, and was featured in the Bank of America ad for Ken Burns' "Country Music" documentary. She was an invited guest for Billy Strings' String the Halls 3, has appeared on Travis Book's (Infamous Stringdusters) Happy Hour and at Portland Blues Festival, Under the Big Sky Four Corners Folk Festival, and Roosterwalk.
