If you haven’t heard about Erin Manning yet, I’ll be the first to tell you that you’re a little out of the loop. The Louisville native singer-songwriter has been out and about playing shows around town for the past two years, with just about every other local musician in Nashville. If you’re anything like me, you probably just rolled your eyes to the words “singer-songwriter,” but this girl is no average “singer-songwriter.” Erin Manning has lungs of steel that strike you in a way that really make you come to love her catchy melodies, yet vindictive lyrics. She has a Fiona Apple undertone and her own Nellie McKay moments. As a result, at her shows everyone breaks out in dance while singing about how crazy ex-lovers can be. The irony in her work is beautiful and don’t assume she is some sort of bitter musician—on the contrary—Erin has quite the quirky stage presence, which makes her not only a good musician, but a great entertainer as well.
Her upcoming EP, Back and Forth (to be released digitally), like her previous work will surely not disappoint. On Saturday April, 23, Manning will be having her EP release show at The Basement promptly at 7 pm, sharing the stage with the likes of Peter Barbee, Korean is Asian, and from what I understand, “surprise special guests.” Erin wrote all of the songs on the Back and Forth EP herself and she plans to play every last one of them on Saturday. The only thing that might be disappointing about this show is that it is said to be one of her last, at least for quite a while. As sad as it is, Erin has decided she wants to collaborate and pursue other side projects, and I can only imagine what is to come. Only good things of course!
Also, Erin Manning is Lightning 100’s local artist spotlight of the week, which means that they’ll be debuting the first song off of her new EP, Let it Go, and for this week only (April 17-24) you’ll be able to download that song for free here.
Remember, it’s an early show on Saturday and the show will start at 7pm and if you show up at 9pm, you will have missed the entire thing, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to see her as well as some other great local artists. You can go here for more information about the show.–Hilary Blakeney