Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of Big Thief.

Early life

Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...

until the age of six, but she primarily grew up in Minnesota. Her parents rented homes in Coon Rapids, Nisswa, and Bloomington, Minnesota, before settling down in

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis.The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota' ...

, where she lived for 10 years. She spent a summer traveling throughout the midwest and living out of a blue Ford cargo van. Lenker wrote her first song at the age of eight, and recorded her first album at age 13. Her other interests included studying martial arts, and she was the state karate champion three years in a row. She did not attend high school and instead received her GED at the age of 16. She attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

on a scholarship provided by Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Career

Big Thief at the Lexington - 32694587412

On February 28, 2006, when Lenker was 14, she released her first solo album, titled ''Stages of the Sun''. On January 9, 2014, Lenker released her second solo album, ''Hours Were the Birds''. On May 1, 2014, Lenker, together with future bandmate Buck Meek, released the LP records ''a-sides'' and ''b-sides''. In 2015, Lenker and Meek, alongside Max Oleartchik and

James Krivchenia Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's de ...

, formed the band Big Thief, whose first album was released in 2016. Lenker released her third solo album, '' Abysskiss'', on October 5, 2018. On October 23, 2020, Lenker released her two most recent albums, ''Songs'' and ''Instrumentals''''.''

Personal life

Lenker met future Big Thief co-founder Buck Meek at a concert when she lived in Boston, and then she encountered him again in a bodega the day she moved to New York. The pair began to play together, and married when Lenker was 24. They divorced in 2018, remaining in Big Thief as "deep friends". In 2019, Lenker was in a relationship with the artist Indigo Sparke, and the two separated sometime in 2020. While Lenker is comfortable with the label " queer", she has expressed a desire not to define her sexual orientation beyond that. Her lyrics often contain discussions of gender and the

gender binary The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binar ...

. In an interview with ''The Brag'', Lenker said of those lyrics, "I feel within myself a constant dialogue between my masculinity, my femininity and the part of me that is neither of those things. I'm just trying to talk about it because I feel like I'm something that is very ambiguous."

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Interview with Adrianne Lenker in 2019
at FaceCulture, via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenker, Adrianne Musicians from Indianapolis Living people American women singer-songwriters 4AD artists Saddle Creek Records artists Berklee College of Music alumni American LGBT musicians Queer women 1991 births Big Thief members Singer-songwriters from Indiana