Marisa Anderson Presents: The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music

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Throughout her career, Anderson has channelled the history of the guitar and stretched the boundaries of tradition. Her deeply original approach applies elements of minimalism, electronic, drone and 20th century classical music to compositions based on blues, jazz, gospel and country music. To surmise, Marisa has re-imagined the landscape of American music.

Her latest release, The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music Volume 1 (Thrill Jockey Records, 2026), pulls from a collection of nearly one thousand songs culled from the private record collection of the late archivist Harry Smith after a chance encounter led to Anderson studying and exploring this treasure trove of music. The Anthology focuses on music from places that the United States has been in conflict with since 1970: Southeast Asia, the USSR and the Arabic and Islamic regions of the world.

In Volume 1 of The Anthology, Anderson presents her own deeply personal iterations of nine songs from the archive. Composed, transcribed and arranged through a process of trial and error, deep listening and research, Anderson charts a musical course from Afghanistan to Vietnam via Yemen, Cambodia and Turkmenistan.

Filtered through decades of experience as a singular artist and interpreter of feeling and sound, the Anthology’s first volume demonstrates Anderson’s interest of music unfamiliar to, and largely excluded from, the American lexicon.

We are delighted to welcome Marisa Anderson back to Belfast for an evening of exploratory guitar and a celebration of music beyond borders.

• “One of the best emotional mediums in the field of solo guitar, Anderson is a master of lovely melancholy”* - Pitchfork

“Marisa Anderson’s guitar playing is something special. Checkpoints are the US folk tradition and American primitive playing; thickened with electricity swinging from pure plucked ballads to hard’n’fast Delta romps” - Guardian

“One of the most distinctive guitar players of her generation” - New Yorker

Support act: Natural Elements Trio

Natural Elements Trio formed in 2024, with the idea of playing some original Shakti group compositions, written by guitarist John McLaughlin and lndian violinist
L Shankar. Critically acclaimed as originators of world fusion music, the Shakti sound is a unique blend of Jazz, blues and Indian Carnatic music.

With the recent passing of one of Shakti's co-founders, Ustad Zakir Hussain, it is the trio's intention to pay homage to the group's groundbreaking musical legacy.