Angel Olsen performs live at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. Photo by dJ/dx.
Friday night brought indie folk-rock artist Angel Olsen back to her home state for a performance at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. The openers, Nashville’s Promised Land Sound, kicked off the night with great energy, backing southern-style harmonies with their country-rock sound. They even brought Olsen and her percussionist on stage for a song that they claimed to have only played together once before.
Olsen and her crew carried the night onward and upward with a shuffled setlist of new and old, alternating between songs from her most recent release Burn Your Fire For No Witness and tracks from older discography. It was difficult to resist swaying along to the Missouri native’s enchanting vocals as the outlined the emotionally charged lyrics that I’ve been humming along to for months. To the crowd’s delight (as indicated by the girly screeches erupting from the house), Angel surprised the crowd with a rendition of Rhiannon by the WKNC-beloved Fleetwood Mac. Closing out the set with a solo performance of White Fire and Iota, Angel continued to hypnotize the audience without the assistance of her bandmates, leaving the crowd with a simple “thanks” and high hopes for an encore. She returned to the stage with her bandmates to close out the night with the high-energy of Forgiven/Forgotten. Overall, it was an impressive performance by a wonderful artist. While many of her shows are selling out around the country, I’m glad I had the chance to see Olsen perform in the Triangle for the first time since last year’s Hopscotch Music Festival. It’s always nice to see talented artists getting the attention they deserve. For more information on Angel Olsen, including tour dates, merch, and news, you can visit her website at angelolsen.com.
– dJ/dx