A few days ago, Big Thief‘s Adrianne Lenker took to Instagram to discuss people who talk during opening acts at shows. “There is a real magic that happens when there is a floor of actual silence when somebody is playing or performing,” she said. “Sometimes I have this feeling like, if only the room were quiet, this could just be so incredible. People are missing so much, because every time there’s meant to be a silence, there’s all this sort of white noise chatter.”
This post quickly gained traction and sparked conversation. Indie star Indigo De Souza, who unveiled Any Shape You Take last year, shared an Instagram post that, given the timing, seems related to Lenker’s post, although it doesn’t mention Lenker or Big Thief directly. The third slide of the post starts, “It makes me so deeply sad when the audience talks over the opening bands — it puts me in a weird headspace and makes it harder to connect with the audience when I go on stage,” she wrote. In the next paragraph, she mentioned her desire for fans to wear masks, another pressing issue for current touring bands.
Country favorite Jason Isbell responded to the slew of articles about Lenker’s statement, writing, “audiences talk at Austin shows too. I’ve found they talk almost everywhere- unless they are crying. Hard to talk when you are crying.”
Nah audiences talk at Austin shows too. I’ve found they talk almost everywhere- unless they are crying. Hard to talk when you are crying. https://t.co/nGVCACRx2Y
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) April 20, 2022
Julianna Barkwick also offered a simple response in the comments of Lenker’s post, writing, “yes,” alongside a raised hands emoji.