angel olsen australia tour 2023

Angel Olsen Adds Intimate Melbourne Show to 2023 Australian Tour

By August Billy

Angel Olsen has added a show at Melbourne’s Brunswick Ballroom on Friday, 10th March, to her comprehensive 2023 Australian tour. The North Carolina-based artist will be in the country in support of her sixth album, 2022’s  Big Time .

The tour itinerary already includes two shows at Melbourne Recital Centre, as well as one show at Sydney Opera House and two headline dates at Perth’s Rechabite Hall for Perth Festival .

Angel Olsen – ‘Big Time’

While in the country, Olsen will appear at Hobart’s Mona Foma ,  Nine Lives Festival in Brisbane, Golden Plains in regional Victoria and WOMADelaide . The tour begins in late February at Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, Victoria, approximately 120 kilometres outside of Melbourne.

Olsen released  Big Time  in June 2022. She made the album with producer Jonathan Wilson, whose credits include Father John Misty’s  Fear Fun, I Love You, Honeybear  and  Pure Comedy , and albums by Margo Price, Billy Strings and Conor Oberst. The album features a return to rootsier sounds after 2019’s synth- and sting-adorned  All Mirrors .

Angel Olsen Australian Tour 2023

• Friday, 24th February – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine VIC
• Saturday, 25th February – Mona Foma, Hobart TAS
• Wednesday, 1st March – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne VIC
• Friday, 3rd March – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne VIC
• Saturday, 4th March – Nine Lives Festival, Brisbane QLD
• Monday, 6th March – Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW
• Tuesday, 7th March – The Rechabite Hall, Perth WA
• Wednesday, 8th March – The Rechabite Hall, Perth WA
• Friday, 10th March – Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne VIC NEW SHOW
• Saturday, 11th March – Golden Plains, Meredith VIC
• Monday, 13th March – Womadelaide, Adelaide SA

Tickets on sale now .

Further Reading

Angel Olsen Drops Cover of Billy Idol’s ‘Eyes Without A Face’

MONA FOMA 2023: Bon Iver, Angel Olsen, Pavement + More

Angel Olsen, Crumb, Drugdealer to Headline Nine Lives Festival 2023

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Angel olsen will perform ‘big time’ live at melbourne recital centre in 2023.

Touring her 2022 album Big Time, Angel Olsen is heading to Melbourne for a one-of-a-kind, intimate show.

A delicate and tender album about an unexpected new love while chronicling profound grief,  Big Love  is a heart-rending exploration of love and loss. She’ll be appearing at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in the Melbourne Recital Centre for a profound and intimate performance next year, on March 1 2023.

What you need to know

• Angel Olsen is heading to Melbourne for a performance of her latest album  Big Love
• She’ll be appearing in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall of the Melbourne Recital Centre
• Catch this intimate, heart-rending performance on March 1 2023

Check out Melbourne’s most comprehensive gig guide  here .

“You can’t plan grief, you can’t organise it or schedule it or know how you’ll feel when it comes,” says Angel Olsen on the themes of Big Love. “It just happens, and when it does sometimes it’s not what you thought it would be.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Angel Olsen (@angelolsenmusic)

“Olsen’s captivating performance was one that will be hard to forget anytime soon,” we said about her 2016 performance in Melbourne . “Live, her power was palpable from any spot in the crowd – the performance raw, vulnerable and most of all, breathtaking.”

Her appearance at Melbourne Recital Centre is a part of her  Big Time Tour,  which will see her appearing at Mona Foma in Tasmania, the Sydney Opera House and sharing the stage at Golden Plains Festival.

Angel Olsen Australia  Big Time Tour 2023

• February 25 – Mona Foma at Mona Lawns, Hobart
• March 1 – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
• March 6 – Sydney Opera House, Sydney
• March 11 – Golden Plains Festival, Meredith

Presale starts tomorrow, October 20, from 11am. Grab your tickets by heading here .

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Melbourne Recital Centre

• Angel Olsen

Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre in arrangement with Supersonic

Second show announced due to popular demand!

A heart-rending chronicle of profound grief and unexpected new love.

Fresh grief, like fresh love, has a way of sharpening our vision and bringing on painful clarifications. No matter how temporary we know these states to be, the vulnerability and transformation they demand can overpower the strongest among us. Then there are the rare, fertile moments when both occur, when mourning and limerence heighten, complicate and explain each other; the songs that comprise Angel Olsen’s 2022 release Big Time were forged in such a whiplash.

Big Time is an album about the expansive power of new love, but this brightness and optimism is tempered by a profound and layered sense of loss. During Olsen’s process of coming to terms with her queerness and confronting the traumas that had been keeping her from fully accepting herself, she felt it was time to come out to her parents, a hurdle she’d been avoiding for some time. Three days later, her father died; his funeral became the occasion for Olsen to introduce her partner to her family. Though she was fearful their presence as a newly out queer couple would be ‘an additional symbol of loss,’ those days went peacefully, yet only two weeks later Olsen got the call that her mother was in the ER. Hospice came soon after, and a second funeral came quickly on the heels of the first. Three weeks after her mother’s funeral she was on a plane to Los Angeles to spend a month in Topanga Canyon, recording this incredibly wise and tender new album.

Loss has long been a subject of Olsen’s elegiac songs, but few can write elegies with quite the reckless energy as she. These are songs not just about transformational mourning, but of finding freedom and joy in the privations as they come. Darkness inherently suggests depth, but it takes a much wiser writer to find meaning and complexity in the luminous place that Big Time occupies.

‘You can’t plan grief, you can’t organise it or schedule it or know how you’ll feel when it comes. It just happens, and when it does sometimes it’s not what you thought it would be.’ Angel Olsen

With Special Guests

Angel Olsen will be supported by Marty Frawley Wednesday 1 March and Annie Rose Maloney Friday 3 March.

Pre-Show Entertainment

From 6pm-9pm, grab a drink and enjoy sounds from College of Knowledge on the Centre’s Outdoor Forecourt.

COVID Safety

Melbourne Recital Centre is committed to the safety of our artists, staff and patrons. A range of public health, hygiene and physical distancing measures are currently in place. Click here to learn more.

Artists & Set Times

Angel Olsen Martin Frawley Annie Rose Maloney

Wednsday 1 March 7.30pm – 8pm : Martin Frawley 8pm – 8.30pm : Interval 8.30pm – 10pm : Angel Olsen

Friday 3 March 7.30pm – 8pm : Annie Rose Maloney 8pm – 8.30pm : Interval 8.30pm – 10pm : Angel Olsen

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

Booking Information

Wednesday 1 & Friday 3 March 2023 7.30pm

• Elisabeth Murdoch Hall

Premium $75 A reserve $65 B reserve $55

A Transaction Fee between $4 and $8.50 applies to orders made online and by phone. Delivery Fees may also apply. For bookings for over four people, please call our Box Office during business hours on 03 9699 3333 for more information.

If tickets are currently unavailable for this concert and you would like to join the waitlist, please contact the Box Office on (03) 9699 3333.

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Angel Olsen announces headline shows as part of 2023 Australian tour

The singer-songwriter will play headline shows at Melbourne Recital Hall and Sydney Opera House, with more dates to be announced

After being announced on the line-ups for two festivals –  Mona Foma in Tasmania and Golden Plains in Victoria –  Angel Olsen has now announced a pair of Australian headline shows for next year.

• READ MORE: Angel Olsen – ‘Big Time’ review: a vast emotional sweep that recalls the greats

In addition to her festival appearances, Olsen will perform at Melbourne Recital Hall on March 1, making her debut in the venue. Then, on March 6, she’ll return to the Sydney Opera House. It will mark the singer’s first performance in the venue’s Concert Hall, after previously performing in the Opera House’s Studio space in 2016.

Earlier today, Olsen shared a poster for her Australian tour dates that shows multiple blacked-out entries, promising “more dates to be announced soon”. For now, tickets to Olsen’s Melbourne and Sydney shows will go on sale next Monday (October 24) at 1pm.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Angel Olsen (@angelolsenmusic)

As Olsen alluded to her in her Instagram post (“This feels long overdue”), it’s been some time since the singer-songwriter’s last Australian visit. She last toured the country in 2018, playing shows in Brisbane, Byron Bay, Fremantle, Sydney and Melbourne.

Since then, Olsen has released three new albums, beginning with ‘All Mirrors’ in 2019. The following year, she released ‘Whole New Mess’ , an album that was recorded prior to ‘All Mirrors’ but features many of the same songs in sparser, more intimate arrangements.

In June of this year, Olsen released her sixth studio album, ‘Big Time’. In a four-star review , NME said the record features “the kind of music that recalls the kind of artists who operate on universal levels” such as Johnny Cash , Dolly Parton , Elvis Presley or Emmylou Harris . “Olsen is a fitting successor; her Midwestern croon is so impeccably suited to this kind of music that it’s a wonder she ever sang any other way,” it concluded.

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In addition to Olsen, next year’s Mona Foma line-up will also include the likes of feature the likes of Bon Iver , Bikini Kill , Peaches , Pavement and The Chills . Golden Plains’ bill, meanwhile, also includes Bikini Kill, Four Tet , Carly Rae Jepsen and more.

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Angel Olsen 2023 On Sale

Mesmeric American indie rocker Angel Olsen will return to the Opera House after a six-year hiatus for a Sydney exclusive performance in the renewed Concert Hall on 6 March, 2023.

"So thrilled to be playing Sydney Opera House this year, can’t wait to share what I’ve been up to for the last few years and play songs from Big Time, and deep cuts from previous records!" Angel Olsen

Hailed as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of her generation, Olsen has gone from strength-to-strength over successive records, with her latest, Big Time, acclaimed by critics as “her clearest and most radiant music” (Pitchfork, 2022). Olsen’s third Opera House appearance marks her triumphant headline debut in the acoustically-transformed Concert Hall, following an unforgettable performance alongside Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy in 2012, and an intimate solo event in the Studio in 2016.

“Angel Olsen’s warmth and magnetism grow with each life milestone she reaches and it is an honour to welcome her back inside Sydney Opera House, this time headlining the biggest room we have. Her radiant new album Big Time is a tightrope walk of grace and vulnerability, transmuting grief and new love into an emotionally-charged and country-tinged musical wonder. Come and be entranced by this giant talent claiming her rightful place in the Concert Hall next year” Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall, said.

Released earlier this year, Big Time is Olsen’s wise and tender new album of love songs and elegies, tracing the shards of her grief after coming out as queer to, and then losing, both of her parents within a short time span. Olsen sings about the expansive power of new love, but this brightness and optimism is tempered by a profound and layered sense of loss.

Since her early days of lo-fi, alt-country rock, Olsen has evolved into an electrifying performer of raw intensity. Her 2014 album Burn Your Fire For No Witness exploded onto the scene, while 2016’s wildly adored My Woman yielded her signature smash Shut Up and Kiss Me . The sublime and epic 2019 album release, All Mirrors, blended her fiery indie rock with sweeping orchestral strings and pulsing electronic soundscapes.

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Angel Olsen is an indie/folk guitarist and singer-songwriter from Missouri, US who performed as a backing singer in the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and the Cairo Gang ensemble.

Having perfected her craft from an early age and discovering her unique tone and incredible range, Olsen began performing at local coffeehouses in St Louis during her teenage years. Taking on backing vocal duties in 2010 with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and the Cairo Gang the albums “The Wonder Show of the World” (2010) and “Wolfrey Goes to Town” (2011), Olsen toured and recorded with them for much of 2010.

Later in 2010, Olsen released her own material in the shape of the six track EP “Strange Cacti” bathed in indie-folk sensibilities as she told tales of life and its heartbreaks. The quirky EP using cynicism charmingly featured tracks such as “Creator/Destroyer”, “Drunk & with Dreams” and “Some Things Cosmic”.

Two years later she released her debut full length album “Half Way Home” through Bathetic Records with a more upbeat tempo yet maintaining her brutally honest and emotional insight. Encapsulating a range of genre styles inspired by the likes of country crooner Roy Orbison and the carefree nature of Joni Mitchell provided musical gems on the album, delicately accentuated through tracks such as “Lonely Universe”, “The Sky Opened Up” and “Tiniest Seed” whilst captivating audiences and critics.

In 2013 Olsen added bassist Stewart Bronaugh and drummer Josh Jaeger to pad out her live stripped back sound whilst bringing a rocky element as she toured nationwide. Later that year Olsen signed to the label Jagjaguwar home to the likes of Bon Iver, Love Life and Dinosaur Jr. The following year she released her second album “Burn Your Fire for No Witness” offering a deeper expression of emotions and creating that heartfelt connection which she does so well. Having the addition of Jaeger and Bronaugh both on the record and in a live capacity provided a heavy almost grunge element reflected in tracks such as “Stars” and “Hi-Five” whilst maintaining the enchantingly dreamy nature about Angel Olsen.

Live reviews

If Angel Olsen's music touches you or interests you in any way, it is a must see live. I have seen her with the full band twice this year and it is a real example of seeing the sounds and the lyrics on the record coming to life. Olsen has a terrific and unusual vocal range to show off her lyrics that include heartfelt platitudes where the first and second person are used to an effect where she can be singing to/about herself, to the audience, to a current or lost lover or otherwise.

There are no shortage of intense and spellbinding songs from her two albums such as Acrobat, Lights Out and Unfucktheworld along with more straightforward rock cuts like Forgiven/Forgotten.

They also played a couple of older songs including Sweet Dreams, during which she really belted 'Goodbye' with an expletive.

Sweet Dreams was followed by a nice cover of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, which seemed to settle things down somewhat and loosened some limbs while still keeping in with the band's general sound and mood and demonstrrated some of the influences. There was no encore but before the final song, which Olsen played solo following the rest of the band being cheered off, she told the crowd 'I'm sorry if you didn't get what you wanted today, or the next day...' and finished with another forlorn but captivating and somehow uplifting song. Most of this needs to be seen to be really taken in and is hard to describe, so whether she is playing near you solo or full band go check it out.

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Oh my god. One of the best concerts I've ever been to. The sound in Pandora was fantastic. Maybe it was solely Angel and her band. Usually I bring earplugs, but I could've done without them. Pandora was a unique little venue inside TivoliVredenburg, and I really enjoyed how intimate it was. I was at the front of the stage and the sound was still next to perfect. Angel was so good. She has one of those voices that sounds better live. She was funny, quirky and is the only person that can pull off a pinstripe jumper and mule clogs. Her backing band pulled off gray suits and bolo ties. It was campy and hilarious, but didn't take away from the music. Angel switched off from playing guitar to the keyboard, and it really proved how talented she is as a multi-instrumentalist. In the end, everyone was so starstruck and enthusiastic about her performance that she came back and played a 6 song encore. Everyone couldn't get enough. She played not only a lot of songs off of My Woman, but songs off of Half Way Home and BYFFNW. In the end, she sang The Waiting, knelt down on the stage, looked me in the eyes, and practically sang it to me. Most ICONIC concert moment EVER!!!!!

Even if you're not into folksy rock music, you must see Angel Olsen. Holy fuck. She is the bomb.

Having already had one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year with ‘Burn Your Fire for No Witness’, Angel Olsen is seemingly set to build on that reputation with every show she plays. Angel Olsen possess a spectacular voice, commandingly powerful but at the same time elegantly controlled and a stark contrast to her easy going stage persona.

Her unique blend of throwback country influence with a more contemporary indie style provides the framework for her honest compositions which her and her band deliver with a surprisingly refreshing tinge of nostalgia. There is nothing between Angel and her songs. No gimmicky showmanship or showy instrumentals to drown out the message of the music and its because of this that the spellbinding romance of the songs is allowed to bleed out and move the audience.

Angel's shows aren’t a once in a lifetime event packed with over the top action or hyperbole but if you let yourself open up to receive the songs you will find yourself touched by one of the most gently rewarding performances of the year.

For anybody interested in the indie folk circuit, the name Angel Olsen will not be a new one. Although the young musician only began touring and recording in 2009, she has released a variety of flawless albums beginning with 'Summer Bummer Get Laid Get Wasted'. The backing singer to Bonnie Prince Billy has complete creative control when heading out on her own live tours and she capitalises on this with a very organic and natural live show.

Joined by a couple of trusty musicians, they perform as though jamming in a garage as opposed to on a big stage surrounded by hundreds of paying patrons. There is something charming in the style though as Angel often acknowledges the crowd with a cheeky grin as they cheer for selections and applaud loudly. She caters to the audience well with a cover of 'Dreams' by indie folk gods Fleetwood Mac which has the whole room singing along before she returns to her own crowning achievement 'May as Well' which closes the proceedings in a suitable style tonight.

Show was wonderful, magical and moody. Very different vibe to her last show in Vancouver solo show as part of Westward Music Festival in 2018. Angel's dry wit was in full bloom last night as well.

Only downside was at times her vocals were lost at louder moments. Not sure if this was just because of our placement in the venue (5th row, right orchestra) but a friend overheard others saying they experienced it outside when the show ended too.

We went to see Angel Olsen at the Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne. The band were great & the sound was good overall, but after making the punters wait more than half an hour before she appeared on stage, I have to say Angel was disappointing. She was less than enthusiastic and her stage presence suffered as a result. Left feeling underwhelmed.

I drove 3 hours to see Angel Olsen (for the 3rd time) play at the Royale Boston. Another great show, with most songs from the latest album. Angel is a great performer, but also personable and really funny. The band was great. Emotions were high. and the Royale and great place to see a show. Loved it!

One of those rare gigs where the entire audience sits in complete silence, enthralled by incomparable vocals and interesting lyrics. Having seen Angel Olsen with a full band before, I am now glad to have seen a very different and more intimate solo set.

OH MY GOD THIS WOMAN IS AMAZING! She hit me in the gut, the experience was quite visceral. The two string players were also AMAZING- the entire band was fire.

If you have the chance to see her, please do! Can't believe I almost sold my tickets!

Angel Olsen was incredible. Her singing was perfect — I don't think she missed a note all night. Played a good mix of older and newer songs. Her backing band was also very solid. Definitely one of the better shows I've been to recently.

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Program: Angel Olsen Live at Melbourne Recital Centre, 2023

Program: Live at the Wireless

Brought to you by

This week we bring you a captivating recording from Missouri singer-songwriter Angel Olsen. After a five-year absence, Angel treated us to a full tour of the country. This was one of three shows she played in Melbourne… and as you’re about to hear, Melbourne Recital Centre, was the perfect venue to capture the intricacy of Angel and her band.

In this stunning performance, you’ll hear her take us on a journey through delicate folk tunes, slow builders that reach soaring crescendos, and of course the nostalgic Americana vibes found on her latest album, 'Big Time.'  Enjoy the emotional experience that is Angel Olsen live,  recorded in March this year at  Melbourne Recital Centre.

Tracklisting:

• 1.   Dream Thing
• 2.   Shut Up Kiss Me
• 3.   Give It Up
• 4.   Spring
• 5.   All Mirrors
• 6.   Through The Fires
• 8.   All The Good Times
• 9.   Chance
• 10.   I Can't Live Without You - Harry Nilson Cover

Recorded by : Jack Montgomery-Parkes

Mixed by : David Manton

Double J Live Recording: Melbourne Recital Centre, Naarm, 2023

Angel Olsen

Live At The Wireless on Double J

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Live Review: Angel Olsen’s emotionally-charged set comes to Sydney Opera House (06.03.23)

• March 8, 2023
• Live Reviews
• Angel Olsen
• Sydney Opera House

Angel Olsen was made for the Sydney Opera House. As part of her All Mirrors tour of Australia, the 36-year-old singer-songwriter presented a beautiful performance that really iterated how formidable the Concert Hall has become for live music.

And while this can be attributed to many factors, no less Angel Olsen’s ethereal and incisive tunes, the show wouldn’t have stuck as well if it wasn’t for Olsen’s contemplative, constantly haunting voice. Huddled towards the centre of the stage, beaming over a microphone and plucking at her guitar, Olsen inspired vulnerability and songs like “All Mirrors” and “Lark” encourage an emotional purge.

Like all good music, Olsen helps listeners talk to themselves in ways not readily obvious. Music, as piercing and transcendent as the likes of “Ghost On” and the gorgeous “Sister,” is a way for listeners to sublimate complicated emotions and present them in a way that can be examined and observed rather than feared and buried. It was obvious looking over the attentive crowd that emotion plays a big part in Angel Olsen’s appeal, and it’s a testament to her expressive songwriting that many in attendance looked as if they were on the verge of tears.

And while an Olsen concert doesn’t seem as torturingly introspective as if The National were belting their tear-jerkers in the Forecourt (someone bring them back, please), there’s certainly that bittersweet element of seeing this woman live. Stuff a small packet of tissues in your pocket if you will, because at least one of these songs will be able to dig deep, for better or worse.

FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

Header image credit: Ken Leanfore

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Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.

Available Now

Forever MEans EP

Forever Means EP Out April 14 – “Nothing’s Free” Out Now

“Big Time” – by Angel Olsen & Sturgill Simpson Out Now

Big Time – The Film – Out June 2. Screenings Announced – Watch Trailer

“Big Time” Single and Video Out Now

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Angel Olsen confirms 2023 tour dates

Olsen is hitting the road in support of latest album big time ..

Angel Olsen will be hitting the road alongside her Big Time Band for a headline tour of North America. Olsen has confirmed plans for shows taking place through January and February. Erin Rae will open on all dates. Tickets for the newly announced shows are on sale this Friday at 10am local time. See below for venue and location details.

Olsen released Big Time in June. Last week she shared a new version of the title track featuring guest vocals from Sturgill Simpson.

Read Next: New Music Friday: Stream projects from Feist, Angel Olsen, and more

Angel olsen live:.

2/20 Atlanta, GA - The Eastern # 2/21 New Orleans, LA - The Joy Theatre # 2/23 San Antonio, TX - Tobin Center # 2/24 Dallas, TX - The Studio at The Factory # 2/25 Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre # 2/27 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall # 2/28 St. Louis, MO - The Factory # 2/29 Bloomington, IN - The Bluebird # 2/31 Columbus, OH - Athenaeum Theatre #

2/1 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre # 2/2 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre # 2/3 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr Smalls Theatre # 2/4 Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall # 2/7 New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall # 2/8 Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theatre # 2/9 Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage # 2/10 Richmond, VA - The National # 2/11 Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre #

# with Erin Rae

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Angel Olsen Announces 2023 Tour Dates

By Evan Minsker

Angel Olsen is taking the Big Time Band out on a 2023 winter tour of the United States behind her new album Big Time . The dates take place in January and February alongside Erin Rae. Find the itinerary below.

Olsen recently shared a new version of “ Big Time ” featuring Sturgill Simpson. Read Pitchfork’s feature “ Angel Olsen on Grief, Coming Out, and Making a Country Album .”

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Angel Olsen:

09-26 Lisbon, Portugal - Capitólio ^ 09-27 Lisbon, Portugal - Capitólio ^ 09-29 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera ^ 09-30 Barcelona, Spain - Sala Apolo ^ 10-01 Lyon, France - L’Épicerie Moderne ^ 10-02 Zurich, Switzerland - Kaufleuten ^ 10-04 Munich, Germany - Strom ^ 10-05 Vienna, Austria - WUK ^ 10-06 Warsaw, Poland - Palladium ^ 10-07 Berlin, Germany - Huxleys ^ 10-09 Stockholm, Sweden - Berns ^ 10-10 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller ^ 10-11 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega ^ 10-13 Cologne, Germany - Luxor ^ 10-14 Paris, France - Bataclan ^ 10-15 Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot ^ 10-16 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso ^ 10-18 London, England - O2 Academy Brixton ^ 10-19 Bath, England - The Forum ^ 10-21 Manchester, England - Albert Hall ^ 10-22 Edinburgh, Scotland - Usher Hall ^ 10-24 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street ^ 01-20 Atlanta, GA - The Eastern # 01-21 New Orleans, LA - The Joy Theatre # 01-23 San Antonio, TX - Tobin Center # 01-24 Dallas, TX - The Studio at The Factory # 01-25 Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre # 01-27 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall # 01-28 St. Louis, MO - The Factory # 01-29 Bloomington, IN - The Bluebird # 01-31 Columbus, OH - Athenaeum Theatre # 02-01 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre # 02-02 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre # 02-03 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr Smalls Theatre # 02-04 Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall # 02-07 New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall # 02-08 Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theatre # 02-09 Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage # 02-10 Richmond, VA - The National # 02-11 Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre #

^ with Tomberlin # with Erin Rae

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By Matthew Strauss

By Jazz Monroe

By Nina Corcoran

• New Zealand
• Entertainment

“I Just Want to Keep Things Moving”: In the Wake of Personal and Musical Transformation, Angel Olsen Is Touring Australia

Angel Olsen was meant to tour Australia in 2020 – following the release of her lush, orchestral fifth album All Mirrors – before the pandemic grounded her at home in the US. When the Missouri-born singer-songwriter finally hits our stages in February and March (for her first Australian tour in seven years), it’ll be as a profoundly different artist to the one who would have arrived three years ago. After all, a lot has happened in that time.

“I don’t want you to publish this article and be like, ‘Angel Olsen is tired,’” she says with a laugh midway through our conversation, knowing how the most flippant comment can become a headline. But the t-word does come up several times throughout our chat. And for good reason.

When we speak, Olsen’s just finished a North American tour, and she’s got a week at home in Asheville, North Carolina, before embarking on her Australian tour. She’s also just been to the gym.

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But there’s a greater, deeper reason for her weariness. The past few years have been a significant time of change for the singer. In 2021, at the age of 34, Olsen came out as queer to her parents. Three days later, her father died. A few weeks after that, her mum passed away. It’s the kind of unimaginable grief that would render most immobile. Three weeks after her mum’s funeral, Olsen was in the recording studio cutting tracks for her latest (and sixth) album, the country-tinged Big Time , released last June.

“Yeah, I just … I feel old,” she says over Zoom from her sunroom-turned-piano-room, before laughing heartily. “But I’m not old. I’m 36. I just feel tired, you know? I was talking to someone else and I was like, ‘I felt like I went through another puberty,’” referring to her coming out. “And then when my parents passed away, I was sort of stuck in this numb period of grief for most of the year, after the record had been finished.”

Big Time moves between past heartbreak, new love and fresh grief, tracking Olsen’s transformation over the last few years on an album that merges the elegiac and heartrending melancholy of her previous records with a newfound embrace of country, Americana and power pop, which she found herself listening to through the pandemic.

“It was the many layers of being in isolation, and then all these changes happening in my personal life – I feel like I was quieted, and I was listening to sort of simple stuff … a lot of Lucinda Williams and Neil Young and Big Star and stuff like that, and just kind of revisiting ’70s rock. I just really like all this stuff. I’ve always really liked it. And I think I was sort of avoiding country for so long.

“It’s not like anything crazy new,” she adds. “I just wanted this album to be really classic, minimal, about the words and the songs. And no theatrics, you know?”

Unsurprisingly after the events of the last few years, the album features a recurring theme of saying goodbye to her former self, and shedding expectation – in songs like Ghost On (“I can’t fit into the past that you’re used to, I refuse to”), This Is How It Works (“I won’t get attached to the way that it was, this is how it works for me now”) and Go Home (“Forget the old dream, I got a new thing”).

Olsen seems to have come out of this turbulent period more self-assured, and with her eyes on the future. “I feel like I appreciate what I’m doing more than I did in the past,” she says. “Even though things were growing and I was becoming successful, I didn’t feel like it was enough. And now I kind of feel like I have made enough records, I don’t feel worried about who I am in my music career … I just want to keep things moving and feeling alive in it and feeling motivated to continue pushing myself. But how do I do that and also take care of myself, you know?”

She’s already got some answers. Olsen tells me she’s been working out again, going for long walks and journaling, and she’s stopped going to parties. “I’m just, like, too old for that shit right now. I just want to hang out with people and have meaningful conversations … And then I think just travelling and playing music, I remembered that I had a purpose. And that helped … Because I think, on top of the grieving, I hadn’t been working, like not in the real way that I was used to, so it just brought my confidence back – to know that I can connect with people.”

Getting back to touring has had some surprising revelations, though. “The other day I ate the worst burrito of my life two hours before the show,” says Olsen. “I had the worst acid reflux the whole show ... The tour manager brought me a Tums [antacid] before I could get back on stage. I guess this is what nearing your forties and being on tour is like. You just need Tums now.”

You get the sense that Olsen feels freer to be herself than ever before. She’s using Instagram to share personal updates, from a tongue-in-cheek post about growing out her signature bangs to the recent death of her cat . “I was just like, ‘Damn, shit is just, like, coming down,’” she says of experiencing this latest loss. “I think that’s what I mean by I’m tired,” she laughs before switching gears. “I mean, I won’t be tired playing the show. I’m gonna have a good time. I know how to dance and have fun.

“Playing the record feels really light,” she adds. “It feels like a fresh breath of air.”

Angel Olsen tour dates:

Castlemaine February 24 – Theatre Royal

Hobart February 25 – Mona Foma

Melbourne March 1 – Melbourne Recital Centre – sold out March 3 – Melbourne Recital Centre – sold out

Brisbane March 4 – Nine Lives Festival

Sydney March 6 – Sydney Opera House

Perth March 7 – The Rechabite, as part of Perth Festival – sold out March 8 – The Rechabite, as part of Perth Festival – sold out

Melbourne March 10 – Brunswick Ballroom – sold out March 11 – Golden Plains

Adelaide March 13 – Womadelaide

Tickets are on sale now.

angelolsen.com

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