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Ethel Cain

2 - 4 June 2023

In the Drama Theatre | Contemporary Music

One of music’s most acclaimed new artists, American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain brings her haunting gothic pop to the Drama Theatre in these two NSW-exclusive performances.

You only have to hear Ethel Cain sing for a few moments – her voice alternately wavering and commanding, always controlling the energy in the room – to become a believer.

The Guardian

Southern Gothic pop from a bewitching new star

From a conservative religious upbringing in small-town Florida to inclusion on Barack Obama’s annual playlist, it’s been a whirlwind journey for 24-year-old singer, songwriter and pre-eminent Southern Gothic star Ethel Cain. With the acclaim for her debut album Preacher’s Daughter (2022) establishing her as one of the hottest new talents of the moment, Cain is set to perform for the very first time in Australia, playing two nights at the Drama Theatre for Vivid LIVE.

Hayden Silas Anhedönia – better known by her stage name Ethel Cain – was inspired by gospel, country, rock and her mother’s soundtrack of Gregorian chants, channelling her influences into her dark and dreamy breakthrough EPs Carpet Bed (2019), Golden Age (2019) and Inbred (2021) that saw her likened to an American Gothic version of Lana Del Rey. Driven by the deceptively poppy hit (and Obama fave) “American Teenager”, Cain’s debut Preacher’s Daughter confirmed the arrival of a major new star, its sprawling tales of god, murder and cannibalism wrapped in a haunting, bewitching dream.

Presented by Sydney Opera House

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