Tristen

“Some artists are interested in being complicated, it’s almost like they’re speaking another language just to the connoisseur of the art,” says Tristen. “I have no interest in that. My style is not to be exclusive. It’s to be inclusive. I’m trying to be as clear as possible. I’ve always been interested in the purest form of the idea, so that it can communicate massively.” That theme is at the core of Tristen’s music — music that is smart but accessible, meticulously constructed but undeniably infectious.

A native of South Side Chicago turned longtime Nashville resident, Tristen has released two critically acclaimed solo records — 2011’s Charlatans at the Garden Gate and 2013’s CAVES — and toured extensively as a member of Jenny Lewis’ backing band. The folk-oriented Charlatans earned her praise as “Nashville’s best-kept secret” (The Boston Globe), and the more synth-pop-oriented CAVES featured “tales of greed, alienation and heartache, made poignant but never saccharine by their electronically enhanced surroundings” (Nashville Scene).

Tristen has been singing since she could speak, and writing and recording her own songs since she was a teenager. Now an established touring musician with finely tuned chops and a knack for lashing exceptional melodies to her singularly poetic lyrics, she travels with a practiced backing trio of top-notch Nashville sidemen. Together, they bring Tristen’s lush, expertly crafted arrangements to life, giving the singer room to brandish her outsized vocals and win audiences with her powerful stage presence — performances that channel the rock ’n’ roll eclecticism of David Bowie and the creative prowess of Dolly Parton.

“Performing is my favorite thing to do in the world,” she says. “It’s like meditation for me. I let go. Ultimately, performing is about the audience, the singer and the band, and the shared experience. And at the center is truth and beauty.” In 2016, Tristen released her first book of poetry, Saturnine, a collection of 18 poems that span from the “green carpet hills by San Francisco” to the “cold hard streets of Chicago” and brim with a kaleidoscope of characters. Her third album, Sneaker Waves, was released July 7, 2017 via Modern Outsider Records.

Past Shows


May
5
th
2019
7th St Entry
May
5
th
2019
7th St Entry

Tristen

with MEG KIRSCH and Kara Laudon
Apr
26
th
2018
Turf Club
Apr
26
th
2018
Turf Club

Robyn Hitchcock

with Tristen
Apr
25
th
2018
Turf Club
Apr
25
th
2018
Turf Club

Robyn Hitchcock

with Tristen
Oct
1
st
2017
7th St Entry
Oct
1
st
2017
7th St Entry

Tristen and Jenny O.

with Juniper Douglas
Dec
6
th
2014
Mainroom
Dec
6
th
2014
Mainroom

Mason Jennings

with Tristen
Dec
5
th
2014
Mainroom
Dec
5
th
2014
Mainroom

Mason Jennings

with Tristen
Oct
26
th
2014
Turf Club
Oct
26
th
2014
Turf Club

Continental and Tristen

with Verskotzi
Oct
2
nd
2013
7th St Entry
Oct
2
nd
2013
7th St Entry

The Features

with Tristen
May
7
th
2012
Varsity Theater
May
7
th
2012
Varsity Theater

Justin Townes Earle

with Tristen
Apr
21
st
2011
7th St Entry
Apr
21
st
2011
7th St Entry

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons

with Tristen and The Apache Relay

More Shows

Jul
30
th
Fine Line

PRIVATE EVENT

Oct
3
rd
Palace Theatre

Sammy Rae & The Friends

Oct
3
rd
Fine Line

Ocie Elliott

May
12
th
Fine Line

He Is Legend

with Codeseven and The Seafloor Cinema