On Thursday, September 4th, I traveled up to Stage AE in Pittsburgh to see Ethel Cain on tour for her new album Willoughby Tucker I Will Always Love You, released August 8th.
Ethel Cain is the character and project created by Hayden Anhedönia, a Florida-born singer, songwriter, and producer whose music blends Americana, slow-core, and dream pop. She first gained widespread attention in 2022 with her debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, a story and exploration of identity, faith, and life in the American South. In January of this year, she surprised some fans with Perverts, an experimental, droning record that departed from her previous sound. Now, with Willoughby Tucker I Will Always Love You, Anhedönia returns to the world of Preacher’s Daughter, creating a direct prequel that expands on the characters and stories that shaped the debut while incorporating some of the experimentation we saw on Perverts.
The show opened with 9Million, a Toronto shoegaze project led by Matthew Tomasi, who frequently collaborates with Anhedönia, most notably on Preacher’s Daughter. I arrived late and only saw the tail end of their set, but from what I heard, I was impressed. I could see fans of bands like Hum or Failure enjoying them.
By the time I arrived at the show, the line to see her stretched all the way around the block, a big indicator that this was going to be a great show. Inside, the stage was decorated like a swamp, and a large cross served as her microphone stand. Anhedonia opened with Willoughby’s Theme, appearing through the smoke while the piano filled the area. From there, she eased into Janie, the crowd sang along but never screamed over her, a rarity at shows. Everyone was respectful, and at one point she told the audience we “smelled good, like cigarettes.”
From that point on, the set moved between quiet, intimate moments and sprawling, cinematic moments. Nettles was a slow, emotional ballad followed by the haunting and melancholic Dust Bowl. Midway through the set, she shifted to the darker, more atmospheric Perverts, before returning to more Willoughby Tucker with the epics Tempest and Waco, Texas, the latter being over fifteen minutes long. For the encore, she played Thoroughfare, my personal favorite from Preachers Daughter, before closing with her biggest hits, American Teenager and Crush.
Overall, I had an incredible time at the show, Anhedonia was incredibly good at interacting and keeping audience's attention even through her most sprawling and ambitious tracks. The show felt intimate despite how many people were there, and the audience was attentive and respectful. It made it quite easy to get lost in the music during the duration of the set. The only real downside was Tempest getting cut short due to an audience emergency, but I can personally overlook that and still say that I still had a wonderful time.
It really was an unforgettable night, and I recommend that anyone who has the chance to see her does. I would give the show a 5/5.