Pieta Brown

Pieta Brown (born 1973) is a critically acclaimed American musician and singer-songwriter who has released eight albums and five EPs. She has performed with artists such as Mark Knopfler, John Prine, Amos Lee, Justin Vernon and Calexico.

Pieta Brown
Brown on stage in 2011.
Background information
BornIowa City, Iowa, United States
GenresFolk
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, piano
Years active2002–present
LabelsRighteous Babe Records, 37d03d, Red House Records
Websitepietabrown.com

Early life

Brown was born in Iowa City, Iowa, United States.[1] Her early upbringing was in Iowa. There, Brown was exposed to traditional and rural folk music through her father, singer songwriter Greg Brown. Brown spent her childhood living in 17 different residences between Iowa and Alabama. While living with her mother in Alabama, Brown began writing poetry and composing instrumental songs on piano.[2]

Career

Pieta released her self-titled debut record in 2002, which NPR Music heralded as "a ghostly collection of largely melancholy songs rooted in the blues."[3] Her 2005 follow-up In The Cool was named one of the year's best by Amazon Music who called it "calming, hypnotic, and seductive."[4] Her next album, Remember The Sun, was released in 2007 and was cited as one of the year's best by The Wall Street Journal.[5] In 2010, Brown signed with Red House Records for the release of One and All. Afterwards, she joined Mark Knopfler’s North American tour, had a string of performance dates with John Prine, participated in a full orchestral show with Brandi Carlile, and embarked on her own performance tour in Australia. Brown's 2009 EP, Shimmer was produced by Don Was after hearing her on his car radio in a live solo performance.[6]

Brown released two more studio albums through Red House Records: 2011's Mercury and 2014's Paradise Outlaw.

In 2017, Pieta struck out on her own for her first independent self-release Postcards. True to its name, the album explores the role of distance and isolation through collaboration as Brown enlisted special guest artists for each track through the mail.[7] She described the process as “musical postcards,” consisting of her original stripped-down, acoustic shells of the song that each artist would then add their parts to and mail back.[8] The list of collaborators included Mark Knopfler, Calexico, Mason Jennings, Mike Lewis, David Lindley, and Carrie Rodriguez among many others.[9] Don Was also participated by writing the liner notes for the album.[10] The unique nature of Postcards won over critics, including Billboard,[7] Chicago Tribune,[11] Guitar World,[12] and American Songwriter who stated, “Brown sounds committed and melancholy throughout, a natural extension of the solitary circumstances that created this moving, emotional music.”[13]

Pieta’s latest full-length album Freeway was release on September 20, 2019 through Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. It was co-produced with S. Carey of Bon Iver and recorded at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios. In addition to Carey, who also plays on the album, it features bassist Mike Lewis (Bon Iver, Andrew Bird) and guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker (Andrew Bird, Alpha Consumer).[14] Freeway was recorded mostly live over the course of just three days with Carey, Lewis, and Ylvisaker hearing the songs for the first time on the spot in the studio while recording. Of the experimental process, Pieta said “it allowed them to rely on their gut instincts and to react to the tunes (and each other) in real time.”[15] Freeway was met with widespread critical acclaim from NPR Music,[16] Stereogum,[14] Paste,[17] Billboard,[15] Flood Magazine,[18] and American Songwriter[19] among many others.

In 2020, Pieta released the collaborative EP/digital triptych We Are Not Machines via the artist collective label 37d03d. The 3-track release centers around the single “We Are Not Machines” which features Ani DiFranco and S. Carey. It was originally recorded in November 2019 at Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s annual HIVER Festival in Eaux Claires, WI. The other two tracks on the EP expand on the single’s original theme, featuring contributions from William Brittelle, Holland Andrews, Jenn Wasner, The Metropolis Ensemble, knotahaiku, Limit Infrared, and Grammy-nominated visual artist Eric Timothy Carlson.[20]

Throughout her career to date, Brown has toured and shared stages with Mark Knopfler, John Prine, Brandi Carlile, JJ Cale, Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Ani DiFranco, Calexico, Neko Case, Mason Jennings, Shawn Mullins, Carrie Rodriguez, Howe Gelb and Jim Lauderdale among many others. She has performed at festivals around the world, including Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Celtic Connections, and more.

Film Career

In 2017, Pieta relocated to Europe for the better part of a year to star in the leading role of the French foreign film Autour de Luisa ("Around Luisa").[21] Brown also co-wrote several original songs that were featured in the film.[15]

Discography

Solo albums

EPs
  • 2003: I Never Told You (T Records)
  • 2008: Flight Time (T Records)
  • 2009: Shimmer (Red House)
  • 2015: Drifters (Lustre)
  • 2020: We Are Not Machines (37d03d)

Collaborations
  • 2013: Love Over Gold (with Lucie Thorne) – Fall to Rise (Little Secret)

Singles and compilations
  • 2007: This Land Is Your Land featuring Calexico
  • 2008: Birds from the album Before The Goldrush: A Project to Benefit Teach For America
  • 2010: King Of My Heart (Ezekiel) from the album Think Out Loud.[23]

As song contributor
  • 2006: various artists A Case For Case: A Tribute to the Songs of Peter Case (Hungry For Music) – disc 2 track 10, "Spell of Wheels"
  • 2007: various artists Just One More: A Tribute To Larry Brown (Bloodshot) – track 8, "Another Place in Time"
  • 2011: various artists A Nod to Bob 2 (Red House) – track 7, "Dirt Road Blues"

As guest artist

References
  1. "The New Bohemian / Pieta Brown is the contemporary folk newcomer to watch out for". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  2. "Red House Records – Pieta Brown". Redhouserecords.com. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  3. "The White Stripes, Bartok on accordion, Talking Heads". NPR.org. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  4. "Amazon Music". www.amazon.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. "Off the Radar, the Beat Goes On". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  6. "RHR227 – Shimmer – Pieta Brown 800-695-4687". Redhouserecords.com. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  7. "Pieta Brown Gets by With a Little Help From Her Friends on 'Postcards'". Billboard. February 24, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. "Pieta Brown Readies New Album Postcards « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. January 5, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  9. Postcards - Pieta Brown | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved August 14, 2020
  10. "Amazon". www.amazon.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. Dickinson, Chrissie. "Pieta Brown, born of songwriting royalty, carries on tradition". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. January 2017, Damian Fanelli 17. "Pieta Brown and Mark Knopfler Team Up for "Street Tracker"". guitarworld. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  13. "Pieta Brown: Postcards « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. March 9, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  14. "Pieta Brown - "Ask For More"". Stereogum. July 11, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  15. "Pieta Brown Debuts Ethereal 'The Hard Way' Featuring Mark Knopfler: Exclusive". Billboard. August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  16. "New Music Friday: Our Top 7 Albums Out Sept. 20". NPR.org. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  17. "Pieta Brown Shares Two New Tracks "Morning Fire" and "Ask for More" From Forthcoming Album". pastemagazine.com. July 11, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  18. "PREMIERE: Pieta Brown Reaches for the Stars on "Bring Me"". FLOOD. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  19. "Pieta Brown: Freeway « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. September 20, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  20. "The Matinee '20 July 27". The Revue. July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  21. Around Luisa, retrieved August 14, 2020
  22. "In The Cool". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  23. Midwest Musicians Serve the Homeless through Music Think Out Loud. Retrieved July 3, 2012

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