This week’s Gotta Hear Song of The Week is a cover of Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty duet, “Stop Draggin’My Heart Around,” by singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and the Austin band Shearwater. The cover was released for Record Store Day this past Saturday on Sub Pop Records as a special limited edition 7-inch single. It was originally recorded for the A.V. Club Undercover video series.
Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater cover “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
XPN welcomes Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds to The Keswick Theatre tonight with Sharon Van Etten. The Australian band released their fifteenth studio album called Push the Sky Away in February following a five-year hiatus. Tonight’s show is a rare appearance for the band, as The Seeds have only played Philadelphia a handful of times during their 30+ year career. Opening up the evening is Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, touring in support of her stand-out 2012 LP Tramp. Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show can be found here. Below, watch the video for Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ “We No Who U R” and listen back to Sharon Van Etten’s Free at Noon performance from 2012 here.
Photo by Kyle Johnson
When she was in Australia back in the fall, Sharon Van Etten visited Triple-J Radio to record a cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds‘ pensive ballad “People Ain’t No Good” for their Like a Version series. The song comes from the 1997 album The Boatman’s Call, and in her chat with the DJs, SVE reveals that her current tour opening Cave tour came as a literal surprise. “My booking agent did it without asking,” the obviously humbled and somewhat nervous siger said. It’s an incredible pairing – one we’re ecstatic to see when it comes to The Keswick Theater on March 19th. For tickets and information, visit WXPN’s concert calendar here. Below, watch SVE’s cover of “People Ain’t No Good.”
Just in time for the (imminent) holiday season, Rufus Wainwright has teamed up with Sharon Van Etten on the classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Listen to it below. The song is from a new collection called Holdays Rule being released on October 30th. The set boasts 17 all new recordings from fun., Paul McCartney, The Shins, The Civil Wars, Fruit Bats, Irma Thomas (with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band), cinematic rockers Calexico, Andrew Bird, Y La Bamba, Heartless Bastards, Holly Golightly, Eleanor Friedberger and The Head and the Heart. Check out the complete track listing below. Rufus Wainwright plays the Pullo Center in York, PA., on Tuesday, October 23rd and in Atlantic City at the Borgata on Friday, February 8th.
Track listing via Amazon.com
1. Sleigh Ride [fun.]
2. Wonderful Christmastime [The Shins]
3. Baby, It s Cold Outside [Rufus Wainwright featuring Sharon Van Etten]
4. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) [Paul McCartney]
5. (Everybodys Waitin For) The Man With The Bag [Black Prairie featuring Sallie Ford]
6. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day [The Civil Wars]
7. Green Grows The Holly [Calexico]
8. We Need A Little Christmas [AgesandAges]
9. Thats What I Want For Christmas [Holly Golightly]
10. May Every Day Be Christmas [Irma Thomas with Preservation Hall Jazz Band]
11. Blue Christmas [Heartless Bastards]
12. Santa, Bring My Baby Back (To Me) [Eleanor Friedberger]
13. Its Beginning To Look Like Christmas [Fruit Bats]
14. Señor Santa (Mister Santa) [Y La Bamba]
15. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel [Punch Brothers]
16. What Are You Doing New Years Eve? [The Head and the Heart]
17. Auld Lang Syne [Andrew Bird]
Sharon Van Etten first hit our radar as the inaugural artist in Shaking Through, the video and audio collaboration between Philly’s Weathervane Music and WXPN. In many ways, the seeds of her recent acclaim were born in that session for Shaking Through at Brian McTear’s Miner Street Studios in Fishtown in December, 2010. The song she recorded, “Love More,” was included on her gorgeous and intimate October, 2010 release Epic. Since then, Sharon’s career has grown significantly, solidified by an extensive touring schedule and her February 2012 release, Tramp on Jagjaguwar Records. Over the past couple of years Sharon has released hushed, indie folk tunes that reveal intimate truths; easily making audiences swoon. Tonight WXPN welcomes her along with Meg Baird to Union Transfer at 9 PM; purchase tickets here.
Also tonight:
PhilaMOCA Summer Solstice Ice Cream Social with performances from Arctic Splash, The Really Cooks, Attia Taylor, Shorty Boy Boy, and MC Juliet Hope Wayne. Tickets to the all ages show will be sold at the door and are $8. Doors open at 6 PM.
And over at World Cafe Live, previous singer of the late, great Ween, Aaron Freeman performs songs from his new Ben Vaughn produced album, The Marvelous Clouds. The 8 PM show tickets are $20
Photo by Dusdin Condren
Sharon Van Etten has just released the new video for “Leonard” from her latest album Tramp. You can watch the video below. Last month, the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter (and WXPN favorite) performed a Free At Noon Concert at World Cafe Live; you can listen to the concert here and read our review here. Van Etten—who was also Shaking Through‘s inaugural artist back in January of 2010—will be returning to Philly on June 21st for a concert at Union Transfer. Tickets are available here.
