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Sep 07, 2021 By Mark Redfern Photography by Alexa Viscius

Big Thief have shared a new song, “Certainty.” It was recorded direct to four-track when there was a power outage for three days while they were recording with Sam Evian at Flying Cloud Recordings in the Catskills. Evian’s romantic partner Hannah Cohen adds harmonies to the track. Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Big Thief consists of singer/songwriter/guitarist Adrianne Lenker, guitarist Buck Meek, bassist Max Oleartchik, and drummer James Krivchenia.

“On the third day of the outage, I found Adrianne on the porch writing a new song, so I sat with her and we finished it together, with the rain falling from the gutters splashing over our guitars,” says Meek in a press release. “James and Sam saw us writing, and quickly set up a four track tape machine in the kitchen, powered by the F250 cigarette lighter out in the yard. They set up the drums by the sink, and Max plugged his bass into a Bluetooth speaker set on top of the stove. Take 2 had a great bark from Sam and Hannah’s pup Jan during the solo, but we ended up going with take 3 because it took us about that long to learn the chords. Then we made pancakes and sausages and ate breakfast for dinner.”

“Certainty” follows “Little Things” and “Sparrow,” two singles Big Thief shared on the same day in August. “Little Things” was one of our Songs of the Week.

Big Thief released two new albums in 2019, U.F.O.F. and Two Hands. Two Hands was released in October 2019 via 4AD and was the “sister album” to U.F.O.F., which was released in May 2019, also via 4AD. In May 2021 they released a new live EP, Big Thief – Live at the Bunker Studios, and shared a live video from the EP of the band performing “Shoulders.”

Read our 2016 Pleased to Meet You interview with Big Thief.

Read our 2017 interview with Big Thief on Capacity.

Big Thief Tour Dates:

Tue. Sept. 7 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall * - SOLD OUT
Wed. Sept. 8 - Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI - SOLD OUT *
Fri. Sept. 10 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Sat. Sept. 11 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
Sun. Sept. 12 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall *
Tue. Sept. 14 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ^
Wed. Sept. 15 - Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater ^
Fri. Sept. 17 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Downstairs ^
Sat. Sept. 18 - New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre ^
Mon. Sept. 20 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
Tue. Sept. 21 - Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern *
Wed. Sept. 22 - Raleigh, NC @ North Carolina Museum of Art +
Fri. Sept. 24 - Richmond, VA @ The National #
Sat. Sept. 25 - Queens, NY @ The Governors Ball Music Festival
Mon. Sept. 27 - Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall &
Tue. Sept. 28 - South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground - SOLD OUT #
Thu. Sept. 30 - Northampton, MA @ Pines Theatre - SOLD OUT %
Fri. Oct. 1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer - SOLD OUT *
Sat. Oct. 2 -Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer - SOLD OUT *
Mon. Jan. 31, 2022 - Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
Tue. Feb. 1, 2022 - Paris, FR @ La Cigale
Fri. Feb. 4, 2022 - Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Sat. Feb. 5, 2022 - Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
Mon. Feb. 7, 2022 - Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur
Tue. Feb. 8, 2022 - Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie Artefact
Wed. Feb. 9, 2022 - Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
Thu. Feb. 10, 2022 - Munich, DE @ Cafe Muffathalle
Sat. Feb. 12, 2022 - Prague, CZ @ MeetFactory
Sun. Feb. 13, 2022 - Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt
Tue. Feb. 15, 2022 - Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 - Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 - Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 - Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 - Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Vredgenburg
Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 - Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort
Thu. Feb. 24, 2022 - Manchester, GB @ Manchester Academy
Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 - Glasgow, GB @ 02 Academy Bristol
Wed. Mar. 2, 2022 - London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Thu. Mar. 3, 2022 - London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Fri. Mar. 4, 2022 - London, GB @ 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Thu. Jun. 9, 2022 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound 2022

*with Mind Maintenance
^with Jimmy Stallings
#with Natural Information Society
+with Molly Sarlé
%with Alex G
&with Buck Meek

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