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
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
07/05/2026
At Broadcast Asia 2026 (Stand 5H3 8), LiveU is redefining live production with its most powerful IP-video EcoSystem to date built to help broadcasters and con...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Recreating the 1974 Doctor Who Time Tunnel in After Effects
Graham Quince May 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Time Tunnel from Doctor Who titles is one of th...
07/05/2026
Back to All News
Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix Present the Trailer of ...
07/05/2026
Less typing, more tanking.
Faster logins mean more time in the gaming action - and this week provides GeForce NOW members with a smoother path straight into th...
06/05/2026
Gravity Media Chief RF Communications Engineer Glenn Willems uses Wisycom RF over Fiber and wireless solutions across major cycling events and international mar...
06/05/2026
A Sennheiser Spectera module is now available in Bitfocus Companion and Buttons, enabling direct integration of Spectera with the two software platforms. The mo...
06/05/2026
Ted Turner, the visionary media entrepreneur whose appetite for disruption helpe...
06/05/2026
The streamer aims to provide a fully integrated Spanish language experience with...
06/05/2026
Polands Miecznik-class frigates are part of the largest contract in Polish shipbuilding history. (Image Credit: PGZ Stocznia Wojenna)...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced the expansion of its leadership structure as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen both its operational management ...
06/05/2026
For nearly three decades, Veteran Production Sound Mixer and Five-time Emmy Award Winner Dirk Sciarrotta has helped define the sonic identity of the long-runnin...
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.
