MIRAH

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mirah moved to Olympia, WA in 1992, at the height of its existence as a de facto incubator for the Pacific Northwest's indie, grunge, and riot grrrl movements. After graduating from Evergreen State University, Mirah taught herself how to play the guitar, eventually gathering a small collection of songs that she released as her debut album, Storageland, in 1997. Her classic girl-and-a-guitar sound soon snagged the attention of K Record's Calvin Johnson, who released her seminal You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This on that imprint in 2000. Over the past decade, Mirah has collaborated with a myriad of singers, songwriters, and other melodic manipulators, including Tara Jane O'Neill and her longtime friend Phil Elverum of the Microphones and Mount Eerie. While her signature style is based on spare guitar arrangements and brainy, literary lyrics, her most recent release, (a)spera, finds her experimenting with a veritable orchestra of new sounds and instrumentation; laced with quavering violin swells, saucy bongo beats, and ethereal xylophone. Now a San Francisco resident, Mirah brings her multi-instrumental skills to the stage, collaborating with fellow SF transplant Thao Nguyen for a special co-headlining set.

CONNIE HWONG