Lissie announces winter tour, coming to Carrboro

Photo by Andrew Calder

Soulful songstress Lissie has is gearing up for a winter tour in support of her excellent debut album Catching a Tiger (check out a review here).

The tour will bring Lissie to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Tuesday, February 1. Tickets will be $12 in advance and go on sale on Friday, December 3 via etix.

Check out a video of a phenomenal performance of the song "In Sleep" from Catching a Tiger below as well as Lissie's cover of "Bad Romance" that put's Lady Gaga's to bed.

Album Review: Lissie - Catching a Tiger

Lissie set expectations for her first full-length record pretty high with her excellent Why You Runnin'? EP late last year.

Why You Runnin'? had more folk and Americana inspiration than rock and pop, but Catching a Tiger flips the ratio. Three outstanding songs from the EP - "Little Lovin'", "Everywhere I Go", and "Oh Mississippi" - make their way on the album, but those expecting the new tracks to follow suit may be quick to dismiss the new album when they hear the pop direction Lissie has taken.

Final Raleigh Lilith performers add indie credibility

The final names for Raleigh's date on the newly revamped Lilith Fair have been announced and they add a little "indie" credibility to the more mainstream artists we brought you last week (Sarah McLachlan, Kelly Clarkson, Erykah Badu, Indigo Girls and Court Yard Hounds).

The newly added names are Lissie, Janelle Monáe, Beth Orton, Nneka and Jesca Hoop. Not bad, huh? If you're unfamiliar with any of these ladies, check out a song or video from each below.

The show is on Wednesday, Aug. 4 at the amphitheatre at Walnut Creek. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, May 1 at 10 a.m. here. The tour presale begins on Thursday, April 29 at 10 a.m. here (the password is celebration).

Album Review: Lissie - Why You Runnin'? EP

It might be hyperbole – and even a bit unfair – to write that Lissie's music sounds like the perfect amalgam of Neko Case and Bon Iver as the Why You Runnin'? EP is only her first record and making such comparisons can create unrealistic expectations, but this skinny, freckled, blonde midwesterner has made a striking debut that is hard to describe any other way.

From the first track, “Little Lovin,'” Lissie's voice is on display, overpowering the quiet trot of the instruments behind her. Her voice isn't quite a mature as Case's, but it's remarkably similar in sound and sheer power. In “Everywhere I Go,” there is little beside her vocals, yet it fills every corner of the room.