Featuring
JENNIFER O'CONNOR
Born in a small town in Connecticut, singer/songwriter Jennifer O'Connor (who moved with her family to Florida right before she started high school) was always interested in music. However, she didn't take her first stab at songwriting until 1996, after she had finished college in Atlanta and joined a local band named Violet. The budding musician moved to New York City three years later and decided to pursue a solo career, pitching her weary vocals atop a synthesis of confessional folk-pop and indie rock songcraft. Her self-titled debut was issued in 2002, garnering favorable comparisons to works by Liz Phair and Mazzy Star. Three years later, The Color and the Light was released by the New York-based Red Panda label, and after a move to Matador Records, O'Connor issued Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars in 2006. She stayed with the label for 2008's Here with Me, which was recorded in 12 days alongside guest players from the Hold Steady and Ben Folds Five.
by Marisa Brown
With Special Guests
THE WESTERN FIFTH
Their sound is lonesome, haunting, and almost classic country at times, yet sounds right at home in the world of independent rock music. Western Fifth creates a visionary sound, founded on heartfelt and often dark lyrics, blended with both classic and eclectic instrumentation.
The band recorded their shambling, country-tinged debut EP in a single weekend during the winter of 2006. Lasting nearly a day and a half, the mostly improvised sessions were tracked at Silver Ant Studio in Minneapolis.