Sept. 28: Sufjan Stevens in Concert
Hear Live Webcast on NPR.org, with My Brightest Diamond
Sufjan Stephens Denny Renshaw hide caption
Sufjan Stephens
Denny Renshaw
Sufjan Steven's second installment in "States" project is Illinois. hide caption
hide caption
WXPN Station SiteThis live webcast is a production of NPR Music and WXPN.
My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden. hide caption
My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.
A prolific singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sufjan Stevens has earned legions of fans and praise from critics for his intricately orchestrated, cinematic folk-rock. Hear Stevens with his "Chinese Butterfly Orchestra" live on NPR.org in a full concert, webcast from the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on Thursday, Sept. 28. The show will begin at approximately 8:00 p.m. ET with an opening performance by My Brightest Diamond. The webcast is a production of NPR and WXPN.
Stevens is on a limited tour to perform songs from his back catalog, with a handful of entirely new tunes. The concerts feature Stevens' 13-member band and various string ensembles picked up at each tour stop. For each performance Stevens dresses as a giant hawk while the band members wear large butterfly wings.
Stevens has told audiences he's working on a series of new songs about birds and has been playing the "Lord God Bird" song he originally wrote for NPR. But fans and critics are anticipating a new installment in his "States" project. Stevens is attempting to write and record an album for each of the 50 states. So far he's released one for Michigan and one for Illinois.
My Brightest Diamond is the music of Shara Worden. The daughter of a National Accordion Champion-winning father and a mother who played organ for the Pentecostal church, Worden studied opera in college before getting into underground rock.
Worden is a singer and multi-instrumentalist and has sung harmony parts for Sufjan Stevens. Her debut album, Bring Me the Workhorse is an ethereal mix of chamber music, rock, opera and cabaret.