Rising Brooklyn Alt-Rocker Margaret Glaspy to Play Yue Space, Sep 12

Boasting a voice that is by turns rawly vulnerable and sweetly tender, along with guitar chops and songwriting skills that easily straddle alt-rock and Americana, Margaret Glaspy has reached a musical niche all her own. That unique style, and the open-hearted relatability of the songs on her 2016 debut, Emotions and Math, has made her one of the most hotly buzzed up-and-comers in music today, all of which will surely make Beijing gig devotees eager for her September 12 gig at Yue Space.

Music news site Stereogum called Emotions and Math "a dexterous collision of genres. It’s bluesy, yeah. Folky, kinda. But it’s also just a straight-up excellent rock ‘n’ roll record, a bold and career-defining debut that leaves you feeling like you really get Glaspy, even if you’ve never met her." That same article went on to describe how Glaspy took up the fiddle as a child, then took a liking to guitar and writing songs of her own, before enrolling in the Berklee College Of Music. She later wrote and recorded Emotions and Math in her bedroom, was serendipitously signed to ATO records, and quickly began a whirlwind world tour fueled by critical acclaim for the LP.

And while she's heralded for her own music, Glaspy is just as impassioned while covering other artists' songs. Some of those choices are unsurprising, such as her drawing from the catalog of fellow gravely voiced songstress Lucinda Williams. But Glaspy has also told the media about her more unconventional on-stage covers, saying: "There is a Lauryn Hill song I cover sometimes, 'Ex Factor.' That one is kind of an emotive roller coaster; it’s so long and epic that it just provides for a cool live experience. I like its length and how everyone has to submit to the experience of being taken for that long." Glaspy's stripped-down, folksy cover of that R&B classic is indeed powerful, which you can see for yourself here.

All of this powerhouse performing seems all the more impressive because it's initially unexpected for many attendees of her shows. Noisey described how, upon first glimpsing her take the stage, you'd be "prompted to wonder what this slight, conservative flower of an artist, wearing a simple white blouse and her signature braided pigtails, is doing in front you, without a band. She could be anyone." She shouldn't be underestimated, of course, because when she "steps softly up to the mic, politely welcoming the audience," Glaspy then "begins to sing 'Emotions and Math' in a gravelly growl of a voice that fills up the entire room."

Now you won't make the same misconception when you make your way to Yue Space for Glaspy's show, knowing instead just how assertive and distinctive her talent is.

Margaret Glaspy will perform at Yue Space on Sep 12 at 8.30pm. Tickets are RMB 60 presale, RMB 80 at the door. For more information, click here.

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Email: kylemullin@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photo: Courtesy of Shore Fire Media