Anas Mitchell is a multi-talented singer-songwriter and playwright – CLTure

By Delaney Clifford

February 16, 2022

Anas Mitchells name echoes through a variety of mediums. An accomplished songwriter, folk musician, and playwright, her catalog of work has been the subject of glowing critical acclaim and a host of prestigious awards. Her most renowned achievement has been the success of Hadestown, a stage musical Mitchell adapted from a folk opera to an album, then into a Broadway production in the span of thirteen years. She did this all while developing and releasing new albums on her own and with the folk supergroup, Bonny Light Horseman.

Since Hadestown premiered at New Yorks Walter Kerr Theater in 2019, Mitchell has had time to return to songwriting. Shes used her time away from the stage to compose her own kind of epic, Anas Mitchell, an eponymous collection of songs exploring memories of her upbringing, personal inspirations, and manifestations of her goals.

This latest solo work from Mitchell stands in stark contrast with the stage music that has ruled her creative space for the better part of a decade. While the style of songwriting the new album utilizes is far from unfamiliar to the acclaimed folk musician, it wasnt without its challenges.

There was a big learning curve in terms of the kind of songs that are required for a piece of drama versus a piece of music. Essentially, [theater] songs need to work hard on the part of the story and the character development, you need to arrive someplace at the end of a song that is different from where you began, she said. A song for music can be more circular, if that makes sense. I think the kind of mesmerizing Lets trance out for three and half minutes of music and poetry is incredible and its what I love about songwriting and the music world, but its not enough for dramatic songwriting.

Given how different the style and subject of songs from Anas Mitchell are from Hadestown, its clear that separating herself from her beloved stage wasnt the only factor that led Mitchell to her new record. After Covid brought Broadway and the entertainment industry at large to a standstill, Mitchell took a state-wide step away from stage and the city. With a baby on the way, she and her family relocated to her home state of Vermont, taking up residence in the memory-steeped former home of her grandparents. This extraordinary shift allowed Mitchell to explore a powerful connection to her past, a theme that presides over most of the songs on her latest work.

However, Anas Mitchell isnt the only album that draws on Mitchells past. According to her, her youth in Vermont has served as consistent inspiration for all of her songwriting.

I grew up in a very wild and wooly kind of hippies in the middle of nowhere setting, she said. We didnt have a television, but we did have fields and woods to explore. There was a lot of making our own fun (for my brother and me). I think that fostered a certain kind of creativity in both of us. Also I think living in Vermont puts you really in touch with the natural world and especially the cycle of seasons. The winter is long, cold, and dark. The summer is brief and incredible. I know that imagery has come up again and again in my songs.

With the new record now completed, Mitchell has returned to touring for the first time since 2020. Mitchell will be pulling double-duty every night on this tour, performing her own songs in addition to a set with Bonny Light Horseman, the trio consisting of Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats and The Shins), and Josh Kaufman (The National and Hiss Golden Messenger).

Having accomplished so much already and with even more to look forward to in the short-term, its hard to tell where Mitchell will go from here. The future is vast and full of opportunity, but rather than stress over the possibilities, Mitchell is letting it come to her naturally.

Im having so much fun right now just writing songs and making records, she said. Im sort of waiting for the right story to cross my path. Im keeping an eye out.

Anas Mitchell and Bonny Light Horseman will be in Charlotte on February 24 at Knight Theater. Listen to Mitchells latest self-titled album released on January 28, 2022.

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Anas Mitchell is a multi-talented singer-songwriter and playwright - CLTure