Gretchen Peters at 3rd & Lindsley
by Chris Parker
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While country-folk singer Gretchen Peters’ music is closer to folk and pop, the wistful banality and traditional ache at the songs’ core is pure country: “I’ve been searching for the promised land, but it’s just another neon come-on roadside stand,” she sings on “Souvenir,” off her 2001 self-titled album. Peters first came to Nashville as a songwriter, scoring huge hits for Martina McBride (“Independence Day”) and Patty Loveless (“You Don’t Even Know Who I Am”) before making her debut with 1996’s The Secret of Life. She’s since backtracked from its polished pop to embrace a folkier sound with occasional baroque flourishes. Each subsequent album has showcased stronger arrangements, scaling back its overwrought moments. The advance culminates with last year’s Burnt Toast & Offerings, which, from show-stopping opener “Ghost” to smoldering “The Way You Move Me,” resonates with elegant simplicity. She’s celebrating the release of a Christmas album, Northern Lights.
Sun., Dec. 21, 8 p.m., 2008
Sun., Dec. 21, 8 p.m., 2008
