Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2018 Eaux Claires in Eau Claire, WI
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2015 Governors Ball in New York, NY
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2015 Boston Calling in Boston, MA
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2014 Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2012 All Tomorrow’s Parties in Minehead, U.K.
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2012 Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Town Hall in New York, NY on November 15th, 2012
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2012 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO on August 19th, 2012
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2012 Primavera Sound
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Scala in London, U.K. on May 16th, 2012
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Cargo in London, U.K. on March 1st, 2012
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Rough Trade East in London, U.K. on February 29th, 2012
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY on February 24th, 2012
Sharon Van Etten is now a few years removed from being the Brooklyn ‘it girl’, palling around with the likes of The National (QRO spotlight on), being congratulated on selling out her local show by BrooklynVegan, getting a birthday cupcake at a show (QRO photos), recruiting stars aplenty for a big hometown performance (QRO photos). She can’t rely on her friends & friendly demeanor to stay relevant in today’s over-stuffed music scene. Thankfully, SVE ups her game by growing into something more on Are We There.
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, WA
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at Mejeriet in Lund, Sweden on February 28th, 2011
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2011 Cross Linx Festival in the Netherlands
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at CMJ 2009 in New York, NY
Photos of Sharon Van Etten at 2009 Northside Festival in Brooklyn, NY
Van Etten began her musical career as one of the many, many alt-folk songstresses out there with 2007’s Because I Was In Love (QRO review), and then had help standing out from the pack with 2010’s Epic (QRO review) and 2012’s Tramp (QRO review). There are still guest stars on Are We There, but this time ‘round it’s she who’s helping them, fame-wise. Meanwhile, Van Etten has grown from simple songstress into almost a diva, if one who can do beauty (“You Know Me Well”) or whiskey-soaked loss (“Tarifa”). There are also moments of smooth sounds, even sly (“Taking Chances”), but also decided alt-country loss (closer/stand-out/sum-up “Every Time the Sun Comes Up”).
Sharon Van Etten easily could have been one of the buzzed-about flameouts that you only heard of because of who she’s friends with (we’ll let you insert your own example). But she was building on a foundation, and now has more than enough to build on her own.
