Anna Tivel
{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Anna Tivel
| image = File:Anna_Tivel.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| origin = Portland, Oregon, United States
| genre = {{hlist|Folk|Americana}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|musician}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|violin|guitar}}{{cite news |last1=Kershner |first1=Lauren |title=Portland Songwriter Anna Tivel Highlights Life's Hidden Stories |url=https://www.wweek.com/music/2018/07/11/portland-songwriter-anna-tivel-highlights-lifes-hidden-stories/ |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |work=Willamette Week |date=July 11, 2018}}
| years_active = 2011–present{{cite web |title=Brimstone Lullaby |url=https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/annaunderbelly |publisher=CD Baby |accessdate=September 25, 2019}}
| label = Fluff & Gravy
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|www.annativel.com}}
}}
Anna Tivel is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. She has released four studio albums on Portland-based Fluff & Gravy Records.{{cite web |title=Anna Tivel |url=https://fluffandgravy.com/artists/anna-tivel/ |publisher=Fluff & Gravy Records |accessdate=September 25, 2019}} Her 2017 album Small Believer received positive reviews{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Mike |title=Anna Tivel: Small Believer |url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2017/10/anna-tivel-small-believer/ |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |work=Folk Radio UK |date=October 2, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Geneviève |first1=Tremblay |title=Small Believer, Anna Tivel |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/musique/510223/small-believer-anna-tivel |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |work=Le Devoir |date=October 13, 2017 |language=French}} and was named a "Top 10 underheard album of 2017" by Ann Powers of NPR.{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Ann |authorlink1=Ann Powers |title=Ann Powers' Top 10 Underheard Albums Of 2017 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/12/14/570576493/ann-powers-top-10-underheard-albums-of-2017 |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |publisher=NPR |date=December 14, 2017}} In 2019, NPR called her album The Question "one of the most ambitious folk records of 2019";{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Jerad |title=Anna Tivel's 'The Question' Is One of the Most Ambitious Folk Records Of 2019 |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/711766328/first-listen-anna-tivel-the-question |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |publisher=NPR |date=April 11, 2019}} it was also listed by Paste as one of "10 essential folk albums from 2019".{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Ellen |title=10 Essential Folk Albums from 2019 (So Far) |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/09/folk-music-2019.html |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |work=Paste |date=September 18, 2019}} Tivel's 2024 album Living Thing was rated No. 1 in the "Top 20 Favorite Folk Albums of 2024" by the listeners of FolkAlley.com.{{Cite web |date=December 19, 2024 |title=Folk Alley Favorites: Best Albums of 2024 |url=https://folkalley.com/folk-alley-favorites-best-albums-of-2024/ |access-date=January 10, 2025 |website=folkalley.com}}
Biography
Tivel was born in La Conner, Washington and grew up in a musical family, learning violin and fiddle as a child. After moving to Portland at age 18, she developed an interest in songwriting and began to write and perform her own material.{{cite news |last1=Hastad |first1=Halee |title=Anna Tivel: Singing her diary |url=https://whatsup-magazine.com/2018/09/anna-tivel-singing-her-diary/ |accessdate=September 26, 2019 |work=What's Up! |date=September 4, 2018}} Many of her songs are vignettes about the lives and struggles of ordinary people; she said in an interview "I'm drawn over and over to the small stories of people (myself included) just trying to get by, to do a little better, to feel some sort of beauty in an ugly world."{{cite news |last1=Horvat |first1=Robert |title=Baring her soul and music to the world: Interview with folk singer songwriter Anna Tivel |url=https://rear-view-mirror.com/2017/11/19/baring-her-soul-and-music-to-the-world-interview-with-folk-singer-songwriter-anna-tivel/ |accessdate=September 26, 2019 |work=Rearview Mirror |date=November 19, 2017}} Tivel's songs are often somber in tone as she has said that she "just [doesn't] trust happy songs as much".{{cite news |last1=De Vore |first1=Alex |title=Voice and Words: Anna Tivel tells the stories at Kitchen Sink Studios |url=https://www.sfreporter.com/music/2018/01/10/voice-and-words/ |accessdate=September 26, 2019 |work=Santa Fe Reporter |date=January 9, 2018}}
Rolling Stone listed her as a standout performer at the 2019 AmericanaFest in Nashville, writing "In a week of countless songsmiths showcasing their attempt at that exact type of singer-songwriter storytelling, Tivel's winding, largely chorus-less tales shined and shimmered."{{cite magazine |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jonathan |title=AmericanaFest 2019: 25 Best Things We Saw |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/americanafest-2019-25-best-things-we-saw-review-884948/ |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 16, 2019}} The magazine also named the lead single from The Question, "Fenceline", a "song you need to know".{{cite magazine |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jonathan |title=Song You Need to Know: Anna Tivel, 'Fenceline' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/song-you-need-to-know-anna-tivel-fenceline-750719/ |accessdate=September 25, 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=November 1, 2018}}
On her album The Question, she collaborated with engineer Brian Joseph and producer and musician Shane Leonard.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/711766328/first-listen-anna-tivel-the-question|title = Anna Tivel's 'The Question' is One of the Most Ambitious Folk Records of 2019| website=NPR }}
In 2021, Tivel was reported to be appearing on the podcast Storybound.{{cite web|url=https://lithub.com/announcing-season-4-of-the-storybound-podcast/ |title= Announcing Season 4 of the Storybound Podcast |date= June 4, 2021 |accessdate= June 24, 2021}}
On May 31, 2024 Tivel released her eighth album, Living Thing, on Fluff and Gravy Records.{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/watch-anna-tivels-video-for-bluebird-off-upcoming-lp-living-thing/ |title= Watch Anna Tivel's video for "Bluebird" off upcoming LP 'Living Thing' |date= March 28, 2024 |accessdate= May 19, 2024}}{{Cite web |date=May 31, 2024 |title=Living Thing by Anna Tivel |url=https://annativel.bandcamp.com/album/living-thing |access-date=January 10, 2025 |website=bandcamp}}
Discography
- Brimstone Lullaby (2012) (as Anna and the Underbelly)
- Before Machines (2014)
- Heroes Waking Up (2016)
- Small Believer (2017)
- The Question (2019)
- Blue World (2021)
- Outsiders (2022)
- Living Thing (2024)
References
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Category:American women singer-songwriters
Category:American folk singers
Category:Singers from Portland, Oregon