Big Thiefs Adrianne Lenker Encourages Students to Find Their Own Currency of Success The prolific, Grammy-nominated musician talked about the mystery of songwriting and why she values the organic way shes built an audience.
By
Bryan Parys
January 21, 2021
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Adrianne Lenker B.M. 12
Image by Genesis B ez
Indie folk-rock act Big Thief, fronted by Adrianne Lenker B.M. 12, is that rare group that gives fans a sense of being in on one of musics best-kept secrets, despite the band's Grammy nominations and near-universal acclaim among music critics. If you don't listen to Big Thief, there's a good chance that one of your favorite artists does.
In 2019, Big Thief released two full-length albums, and in the year since, most members of the band have released albums on their own, including Lenker's most recent dual-release, songs and instrumentals, both of which ended up on a slew of best-of-2020 lists, including those compiled by The New Yorker and NPR.
Giving off a mystic-nomad vibe, Lenker has come to occupy a Bob Dylan-esque space for her devotees, who pore over her poetic, naturalistic lyrics and flock to her interviews in order to get a deeper look at her artistic process. In a virtual Visiting Artist Series event toward the end of the fall semester, moderated by Bonnie Hayes, chair of the Songwriting Department, students got just that kind of window, as Lenker shared her thoughts on songwriting and organically building a fan base.
If your currency is something other than money, then you've already won. If you love what you're doing, no one can take that away from you.
-Adrianne Lenker B.M. 12
Hayes kicked off the discussion by asking Lenker about her songwriting flow and how she's able to so successfully return to a place of pure creativity so often. Lenker said that she tends to begin by ruminating on the question How do I express what's inside of me that's going to translate to other people? The point of asking the question, for her, is not to find a single answer. It's still a mystery to me . It's totally intangible and nonformulaic and it's always changing, she said. She went on, pointing out that the most liberating thing has been to not try and write something good. It's like being a nurturer to yourself. It's making the switch from being hard on yourself and criticizing yourself to actually just inviting yourself to explore and express and play.
Related
Listen to Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek B.M. 10 discuss studying guitar at Berklee, his approach to recording, and meeting Joni Mitchell.Interviews conducted via streaming video often run the risk of feeling impersonal, but a key feature of the session with Lenker was the many personal stories attendees shared about how Lenker had left an impression on their lives. Damien Bracken, dean of Admissions, recounted the time in 2008 where Lenker dropped by his office, guitar in hand, while she was on campus for one of Berklees summer programs, and instead of asking for advice on applying to Berklee, simply said, Do you mind if I play a song for you? Bracken said, I knew then that I was in the presence of someone very, very special.
Similar stories came from Abby Aronson, professor in the Guitar Department, who recounted fond memories of working with Lenker while she was a student, and from current student Hunter Rapp, who said that a short conversation with Lenker after a Big Thief show in 2016 made a big impact on her, and was one of the main reasons she ended up at Berklee.
Over the course of the conversation, it became clear that these kinds of fleeting but meaningful encounters are at the very heart of Lenker's and Big Thief's approaches to building an audience. Describing the band's early years booking their own small tours and traveling in an old van, Lenker said, We wanted to do it where we met people in person and we could feel that the audience we were building was being built from having experienced time together in real life, in a room.
While that approach meant that she had to wait tables for years while she paid her dues, it was worth it, because at the end of the day her passion for music drove everything she did. As she said, If your currency is something other than money, then you've already won. If you love what you're doing, no one can take that away from you.
Related Categories
News
North America Stories
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
Big Thiefs Adrianne Lenker Encourages Students to Find Their Own Currency of Success The prolific, Grammy-nominated musician talked about the mystery of songwriting and why she values the organic way shes built an audience.
