STORY TIME
Duo bring the tales behind their lyrics to life one one of only three European dates
THE amazing Anna and Elizabeth perform in Menai Bridge next month. Anna and Elizabeth is a collaboration between Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth Laprelle, and they will be bringing their breathtaking Appalachian roots music to the Victoria hotel on Friday, November 3.
Their performance at The Victoria will be one of only three UK dates on their current European tour.
The duo’s growing acclaim springs from their talents as historians, storytellers, visual artists, and gifted, intuitive musicians—in combination, a groundbreaking approach.
Inspired by the richness and tradition of the mountain music of Appalachia, Anna and Elizabeth gather songs and stories from archives and visits with elders.
They bring these songs to life in performance with sparse, atmospheric arrangements using guitar, banjo,fiddle, and the uncanny blend of their voices in close harmony.
They accompany their songs with stories- of the lyrics, of the singer, of the quest to learn the song— and they illustrate them in mesmerizing fashion.
The two revive the old scrolling picture show dubbed ‘crankies’ - intricate picture-scrolls illustrating the old songs they sing, which they create in tandem with papercuts, shadow puppets, prints, and embroidered fabric.
Since Anna and Elizabeth met in 2011, their work has brought them to stages across the world, including the Atlanta Museum of Modern Art; folk festivals in Brooklyn, the Yukon, Chicago, Maine, and Uzbekistan.
They have also made appearances at the Sidmouth and Cambridge Folk Festivals; residencies at universities; summer traditional music schools; and theatres and folk clubs across the US and the UK, including this return visit to Menai Bridge.
They have released two acclaimed full-length albums, their first ‘Sun to Sun’ was released in 2012, and ‘Anna & Elizabeth’ in 2015. They plan to release their third album in 2018.
“They brought many of us to tears with some of the most yearning harmonies I’ve heard. These songs are given few embellishments — sometimes a fiddle is added to a single voice, sometimes a banjo or guitar chimes in — but always the power is in the sparseness.
“If you’ve never thought your tastes would lean to mountain music, take a deep breath and soak it all in.” - Bob Boilen, NPR Music
The doors open at 8pm and tickets are priced at £12.
Tickets are available from Palas Print in Caernarfon (01286 674631) and Mudshark Records in Bangor.