Courtney Barnett

A southpaw guitar wizard who sometimes rocks a showstopper mullet to rival those of classic Aussie arena rockers Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham, Melbourne’s Courtney Barnett is perhaps best known for the wry, wordy lyrics that fill her two solo albums. Barnett has indicated in interviews, somewhat self-deprecatingly, that she struggles to express herself, but her communication style in songs is loquacious and deep. Much like her on-and-off collaborator Kurt Vile, she weaves feedback-heavy rock songs with deadpan stories of everyday life to impressive effect. On “Depreston” she guiltily mulls over loss and aging while looking for a house to buy; on “History Eraser”, she speaks with nervous energy about rambling through her city’s nightlife with a new lover. “I fed the ducks some krill / Then we were sucked against our will / Into the welcome doors of the casino,” she sings. Quinn Christopherson, the 2019 NPR Tiny Desk Concert winner, opens.