Jade Bird w/ Diana Demuth & Lucky Kilmartin (Night 1)

1245 Chicago Avenue,Evanston IL 60202

10 October, 2021

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Jade Bird w/ Diana Demuth & Lucky Kilmartin (Night 1) "Now's The Time America" Tour ALL AGES Jade Bird Lucky Kilmartin, Diana Demuth Jade Bird w/ Diana Demuth & Lucky Kilmartin at SPACE in Evanston, IL // October 10, 2021 // Doors: 7pm, Show: 8pm // $25 ADV JADE BIRD: "NOW'S THE TIME AMERICA" TOUR GENRE: Singer-songwriter // Folk // Indie - Rock ABOUT THE ARTIST For Jade Bird, the second that lockdown lifted, there were no aimless summer days spent meeting friends in parks; no languorous evenings in pub gardens. She was headed straight back to Nashville to complete her second album -- albeit via a strict two-week quarantine in Mexico City. She allowed herself to see no more of the Mexican capital than the local store and a leg-stretching walk around the block, not wanting to jeopardize any chance of being allowed into the States to finish what she had started with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Lady Gaga). "I move on really quick," Jade explains of the urgency she felt. "My feeling was: I'm in it, I love these songs, I want to sing. That's why we made heaven and earth move so I could do that in that moment." For Jade, moving fast was about staying connected to the music that she had written (as always), not capitalizing on momentum or anyone else's idea of a career plan. She had a taste of the UK hype cycle, making the BBC's 2018 Sound Of... poll and being tipped everywhere from Vogue to Rolling Stone. Her self-titled debut album arrived a year later. Despite those early garlands, she didn't become an overnight success. "I was really glad," she says. "Musically I was not ready. Lyrically I was not ready. And mentally I was not ready." Nevertheless, Jade Bird -- as barnstorming an album as came out in 2019 -- received plaudits from the likes of Pitchfork and NPR. And it showed Jade, an obsessive at bettering her craft, how she wanted to build on the foundations she had laid. She was grateful that her label, Glassnote, was invested in letting her develop album by album. That mature perspective is typical of Jade, who even at 21 was wise to how young female musicians are expected to become cute ambassadors for feminism. ("I'm not sure how to do anything but what I'm doing because what I'm doing is feminism," she told the Guardian. "You don't need to wear a hashtag T-shirt.") In the US, Jade became part of a community of songwriters and career artists who showed her that a happier, more holistic and sustainable way of working was possible. The likes of Isbell, Sheryl Crow ,and Jade's friend and champion, Brandi Carlile, promote a nurturing environment, she says, and often tour with their families in tow. It was inspiring. "Especially for a young, female artist, knowing that you can be happy and do your job is really underrated," says Jade. (Also inspiring: for a truly life-affirming vision, look up footage on YouTube of Jade, Brandi and Sheryl performing 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton, Linda Perry, Maggie Rogers, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and more at last year's Newport Folk Festival, a vision in jewel-coloured pant suits.) Jade resents the modern idea that musicians are also expected to be marketers and businesspeople; for her, musicians are meant to be artists. She admires Brandi's longevity: "It took her six albums before she hit By the Way, I Forgive You. The work ethic! The belief!" Hence why Jade and her partner are moving to the US. Plus she's young and she's never lived away from home before, bar the many months spent on the tour bus: why not? In the meantime, maybe she'll work on the punk album she's been making with iconic songwriter Linda Perry, a concept record inspired by the B-52s, the Raincoats and riot grrrl, and based on feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman's utopian 1915 novel, Herland, about a society composed entirely of women who can reproduce asexually. "It's in my back pocket," says Jade, brimming with excitement. "Third album, fourth album." There's no rush. The trepidation she felt about her profession on her debut has dissipated. "I never felt like I could call myself an artist -- like, we'll see. Whereas I know that's my occupation now. That's who I am, and that's incredibly reassuring." ARTIST WEBSITE ARTIST YOUTUBE Jade Bird Lucky Kilmartin, Diana Demuth SPACE is a live music hall in Evanston, Ill., established in 2008.