Bella White to play Groningen and Rotterdam later this month

A truly original new voice in songwriting, Bella White creates an undeniable magic by mining the rare duality at the heart of her artistry. Although she hails from the Canadian city of Calgary, the 20-year-old singer/multi-instrumentalist grew up on the classic country and old-time music she first discovered thanks to her father, a Virginia native who played in bluegrass bands all throughout her childhood. On her debut album Just Like Leaving, White balances her old-soul musicality with a lyrical perspective that’s entirely of-the-moment, embracing an intense self-awareness as she documents her coming-of-age in real-time. “I’m still quite young, but I was very young when I wrote this album,” says the Nashville-based artist. “All of these songs came from processing my feelings right as I was experiencing certain things for the first time in my life.”

Among Other This, her second album, Bella White walks a fine line separating tradition and introspection. On Just Like Leaving, White didn't hide the debt she owes to old-fashioned bluegrass and Appalachian country, surrounding her keening twang with robust instrumentation that brought out joy as much as sorrow. The twang remains on Among Other Things -- if anything, it's more pronounced, functioning as the initial focal point of many tracks -- but White's decision to work with Jonathan Wilson, a producer who previously helmed records by indie rockers Father John Misty and Angel Olsen, steers her toward a bleak intimacy where her music seems starkly unadorned. It's not a coincidence that Buck Meek, the guitarist in the delicate indie folkers Big Thief, plays a role here: Among Other Things can recall the interior journeys of indie singer/songwriters.

Even though White reveals fragile emotions, she remains firmly planted in roots music, not only capable of working up a head of steam on "Break My Heart" or settling into the mellow sunset of "Numbers," but sounding resolute during her most vulnerable moments. Occasionally, White's earnestness as a lyricist and singer can seem at odds with the relaxed ease of the music, but that's also a considerable part of her appeal. As she opens her heart and chases her thoughts, White writes and performs with a guileless empathy, a quality that gives Among Other Things a raw intimacy even in its quietest moments.

Bella White will bring Among Other Things to the Netherlands in June:

23/06: Groningen, NL - Oosterpoort*
24/06: Rotterdam, NL - Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival
* with Cordovas