SHARA AND SARAH TEAM UP FOR PENELOPE

October 25th, 2010 , by

Tomorrow, October 26th marks the release of Penelope. The album is a 60-minute song cycle composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider for Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and the orchestral group, Signal, based on texts by playwright Ellen McLaughlin, derived from the music theater piece of the same name she and Snider wrote together in 2007-2008.

Penelope has appeared in various guises over the past two years: it originated as a music for a theater piece and then debuted as a song cycle with Signal last May. When Shara came aboard the project, Sarah revised and expanded the songs yet again, tailoring them to Shara's unique talents and arranging them for Sarah's dream cast of characters: a 25-person orchestra of strings, harp, percussion, drums, electric guitar and bass, and electronics (with sound design by Michael Hammond). The cycle grew from 40 to 60 minutes. It is yet another example of how brightly our diamond can shine!

Listen to one of the album's tracks here.

Order the incredible rich and captivating album here.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND RELEASES MUSIC AND HUMAN BOY

September 8th, 2010 , by

Asthmatic Kitty is pleased to announce that Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond) has released two limited edition items. The first is a hand-numbered split 7” with the lovely and dynamic Dayna Kurtz. For the 7" each artist covers the other, Shara taking on Dayna’s “Postcards From Downtown”, and Dayna covering “Gone Away” from Bring Me The Workhorse. The 7” is on Kismet Records and you can stream the two tracks via their myspace page. You can purchase the two songs from itunes here and here.

The other release is a human boy. Constantine Jamesson Worden was born on 19 July 2010 at 10:58pm, healthy and happy to equally healthy and happy parents! Read all about it here. Fortunately this release is not for sale on itunes.

My Brightest Diamond will be performing in rock trio formation at some select shows in September and October. Click here for dates.

SHARA WORDEN WITH THE BLIND BOYS

June 10th, 2010 , by


Aired on Australia's sunrise.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND MINI-TOUR

April 28th, 2010 , by

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond has been everywhere lately. This will be true briefly in the future as well. In a quick tour of various points of contact in North America, MBD will be performing solo dates in the following cities: Keene New Hampshire, Montreal, Toronto, and Pontiac. On tour you will be able to pick up a new limited release 7" on which Dayna Kurtz plays a bare banjo version of "Gone Away", and in turn Shara covers Dayna's "Postcards from Downtown". You can hear clips of the songs and purchase the 7" here.

Then, in June, My Brightest Diamond will perform at the Vivid Live Festival

in Sydney, Australia, curated by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. On June 4, 2010 Shara sings in a collaborative show with Laurie Anderson entitled Slow Music Night at the Concert Hall in the Sydney Opera House. And on June 6, 2010 My Brightest Diamond will perform (as rock trio) at The Studio in the Sydney Opera House.
 
Details for all these dates are here.

SHARA WORDEN OF MBD AT BELL HOUSE, BROOKLYN TONIGHT

April 3rd, 2010 , by

Tonight (Saturday, April 3), at 7:30 PM at The Bell House in Brooklyn, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond will be performing a song cycle called Penelope by the composer Sarah Kirkland Snider, together with Signal – a versatile, do-anything chamber orchestra conducted by Brad Lubman.   
 
Penelope has appeared in various guises over the past two years: it originated as a music for a theater piece and then debuted as a song cycle with Signal last May. When Shara came aboard the project, Sarah revised and expanded the songs yet again, tailoring them to Shara's unique talents and arranging them for Sarah's dream cast of characters: a 25-person orchestra of strings, harp, percussion, drums, electric guitar and bass, and electronics (with sound design by Michael Hammond).  The cycle grew from 40 to 60 minutes.  This is the premiere performance of this new, expanded version of the piece.     
 
Details here.

SHARA WORDEN OF MBD GUEST-CURATES 92YTRIBECA

February 19th, 2010 , by


Shara, of My Brightest Diamond (and a remarkable array of other projects lately), is helping art and music space 92YTRIBECA to launch Woman's History Month on March 5th and 6th. The result is a sharp-eyed curation that also reflects Shara's career and personality, including art from Dena Verdesca, Amy Fritch, Sarah Small, Tim Fite, Deborah Johnson (who has worked as projectionist for Sufjan Stevens).

Shara, being rather musical herself, has also drafted a remarkable, collaborative lineup to complement the weekend. It does involve puppetry. Shara herself will provide a rare performance with yMusic.

Tickets are just $15 for each night and are going fast. You can purchase them, and see the full schedule and details here.

SHARA WORDEN OF MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND TO PLAY WITH CLOGS

February 15th, 2010 , by

You've heard of The National, which consists of brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner. Bryce Dessner is also a member Clogs, whose new album (The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton) features not just Sufjan Stevens but also Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. And, we might add, quite prominently. 
 
To promote the new album Clogs will playing selections from the record this weekend in Minneapolis, and of course Shara will be performing as well. Tickets are $22 and shows are on Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th. Info here. And on Saturday at 5:30pm you can also catch a discussion of the musicians' art with the Brothers Dessner and Shara Worden at the Weisman Art Museum. That event is free but you should RSVP – details are here.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND PLAYING AT BOWERY IN NYC

January 7th, 2010 , by


Photo by Raphael Neal

It’s darn near impossible to corner Shara Worden these days. But believe or not: you can! In addition to all this other amazing stuff we mentioned a few weeks ago (addendum: she’s also on the new Clare & The Reasons album, which we should say is very nice), My Brightest Diamond is playing at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Friday, January 22. You can buy tickets in advance for $15 here or $17 at the door.
If that doesn’t work for you, you’ll need to plan ahead. Shara will be playing with Clogs in Minneapolis on February 19th and 20th (details here). Then in March, MBD will be playing alongside acts like Vampire Weekend and Joanna Newsom at the Big Ear Festival in Knoxville (details here). 
And don’t forget: we are releasing a limited-edition compilation of four My Brightest Diamond remix albums by Alfred Brown, Son Lux, Roberto Carlos Lange, and DM Stith. Info and preorder here.

BUSY AS A BRIGHT DIAMOND; SHARK REMIXES [FREE MP3 ALBUM]

December 12th, 2009 , by

We have probably said it before, but it is worth saying again: Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond is the hardest working gal in the business. Having just wrapped up a busy year with the Decemberists (including late night appearances on Leno, Colbert, etc!), she didn’t even unpack and instead went straight on a brief tour of southern Europe. In between the Decemberists press and tour dates, she also managed to squeeze in a couple duets with Bon Iver at the Sasquatch Festival and Radio City Music Hall where she also performed as part of the Dark Was the Night Benefit Concert. The concert was a live performance of the previously released album (which MBD appears on). 

Shara also recorded a duet with David Bryne for his upcoming album, Here Lies Love, due out early next year via Nonesuch Records. And yet still, somehow she found time to perform with the Dessner brothers (alongside the Deal sisters) as part of their Brooklyn Academy of Music-commissioned rock opera, The Long Count.

What better way to celebrate an absolutely incredible year for MBD than to give away some lovely demos? The demos are a fully realized collection of five alternate versions of tracks from A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. MBD has also included an album outtake. Orchestrated and complex yet spacious and direct, these are quite rewarding; they let us hear how the the songs grew into their final form.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that the fourth and final Shark Remix EP will be a collection of A Thousand Shark’s Teeth remixes by DM Stith and will be available digitally January 26, 2010.  Simultaneously, we will be releasing a fancy limited edition 2xCD of all 4 EPs signed and numbered by Shara. You can preorder it by clicking here ($22+S&H), or visit the release page here. There are only 1500 of these and they will go fast.

LIZ JANES, MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, JOOKABOX AT PYGMALION IN SEPTEMBER

August 31st, 2009 , by

On September 16-19, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois will host the fifth annual Pygmalion Music Festival, and wow, what a lineup. Wavves, The Antlers, YACHT, BLK JKS, Denison Witmer, The Books, RJD2…the list is comprehensive, while yet remaining true to the festivals midwestern roots. And of course, some of our very own Liz Janes, My Brightest Diamond, and Jookabox will all grace the stages of the Pygmalion. For a complete schedule, list of bands, and tickets, head over here.

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