Sharon Van Etten has announced ‘epic Ten’, a double LP consisting of her original 2010 album ‘epic’, alongside a new album of all-star covers.
Out digitally on 16th April and physically on 11th June via Ba Da Bing, there’ll also be a documentary and concert stream.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of ‘epic’’s release, she asked fellow artists she admired to cover one different song from the record. Those featured include Fiona Apple, Lucinda Williams, Courtney Barnett ft. Vagabon, Big Red Machine (Aaron Dessner & Justin Vernon), IDLES, Shamir and St. Panther.
“epic represents a crossroads for me as an artist,” Sharon explains. “Going from intern to artist at Ba Da Bing, from solo folk singer to playing with a band for the first time and beginning to play shows on tour where people showed up. I am in awe of the artists who wanted to participate in celebrating my anniversary and reissue, from young inspiring musicians, to artists who took me under their wing, who I met on tour, and to artists I’ve looked up to since I was a teenager. Each one of these artists continue to influence my writing and provide a sense of camaraderie during this new era of sharing music.”
epic Ten: the documentary and concert will stream on 16th and 17th April. Van Etten and her band will perform ‘epic’ in its entirety from Zebulon LA, the venue that played a crucial role in her early career. Profits will benefit Zebulon. A short documentary on the making of ‘epic’ and the significance of Zebulon will precede the concert.
You can already Big Red Machine’s cover of ‘A Crime’ cover. Each Thursday leading up to the release, Van Etten will share the album’s next consecutive cover song – which means we’ll get IDLES ‘Peace Sings’ this time next week.
“Sharon is one of my favorite songwriters and I’ve been very lucky to get to collaborate with her many times over the years,” Big Red Machine and The National’s Aaron Dessner says. “Recording ‘A Crime’ with Justin, more than 10 years after we covered ‘Love More’ at Music Now with my brother Bryce – and thinking about all our shared memories – it felt like coming full circle. It’s an honor to be able to pay tribute to Sharon and her incredible songs. We felt like the door should be about to fall off the hinges of this version and I think it sounds like that.”
You can check out Big Red Machine’s ‘A Crime’, and find the full tracklist, below.
epic Ten tracklist
1. “A Crime” – Big Red Machine
2. “Peace Signs” – IDLES
3. “Save Yourself” – Lucinda Williams
4. “DsharpG” – Shamir
5. “Don’t Do It” – Courtney Barnett (ft. Vagabon)
6. “One Day” – St. Panther
7. “Love More” – Fiona Apple