Pieta Brown had been playing guitar for only about six months when she recorded her first album. The daughter of singer-songwriter Greg Brown, Pieta Brown has established herself as a poet singer whose gossamer voice and gentle fingerpicking underpin gorgeous melodies. Brown dropped in AG’s studio recently to perform for Acoustic Guitar Sessions, she talked about her childhood, her family, her guitars, and more. She also performed a song from Paradise Outlaw (“No Not Me”) and introduced a brand new tune that hasn’t yet been released (“Street Tracker”).
More than a decade later, Brown has released six more, in addition to three EPs and collaborations with Calexico and more recently Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and singer Amos Lee. Brown’s latest album is the sublime Paradise Outlaw, named for a book of photos of Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Diane Di Prima.
The daughter of singer-songwriter Greg Brown, Pieta has established herself as a poet singer whose gossamer voice and gentle fingerpicking underpin gorgeous melodies that carry her words like leaves blowing in a Midwestern wind. It’s a sound that fits her well. Brown spent her early childhood in Iowa amid several generations of family members—her great grandparents, grandparents, father, and an uncle—who would gather together and jam on acoustic guitars and banjos. She and her mom moved to Alabama when Brown was still young, and there she honed her writing voice by composing songs on a piano.
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When Brown came into Acoustic Guitar’s studio recently to perform for Acoustic Guitar Sessions, she talked about her childhood, her family, her guitars, and more. She also performed a song from Paradise Outlaw (“No Not Me”) and introduced a brand new tune that hasn’t yet been released (“Street Tracker”).
For more Acoustic Guitar Sessions, check out the archive.