Danielle Durack//Blair Borax
Sat, Jun 7 at 7pm
The Quilcene Lantern is proud to present Danielle Durack (Nashville) and Blair Borax (Portland).
$12 advance//$15-25 at the door
7pm doors//8pm music
All Ages
Danielle Durack:
On her third full-length effort, Danielle Durack arrives on the other side of the crushing heartbreak that defined her acclaimed 2021 LP, No Place. “Sleeping in my ex’s shirt / I honestly don’t think too much about him no more,” she sings breezily on “Shirt Song” as Escape Artist opens over playful, palm-muted guitars. “...And life goes on.” The remarkable emotional depth and diaristic quality of No Place remain, but here Durack broadens the scope of her songwriting, showcasing the growth and maturity that come from time passed and experiences lived. “This record was written at a time when I was processing more trauma than I had ever encountered in my life,” explains the newly Nashville-based artist. “While many of the songs touch on escapism, ultimately the making of this album has been my own escape, my own distraction from reality, to process and reflect on a very turbulent time in my life.”
Escape Artist was mostly penned during lockdown, when Durack found herself with nothing but time to sift through the ashes of past relationships, searching for value and lessons in the rubble. The bittersweet, gentle “Jackson'' is a swaying folk gem in which Durack examines paths left untaken in our romantic lives, as well as the colossal significance we often ascribe to our earliest relationships. Her voice is as soft as cashmere as it spills over a bed of ghostly guitars. By contrast, the more lighthearted and spry “News” plays out as a conversation between past lovers who now find themselves on the other end of things as friends—a hallmark of growing up and moving on, soundtracked by an ambling drum beat and steady, summery strumming. Durack once again recruited her longtime friend and producer, Sam Rosson, to work with her on Escape Artist; his touch enhances the album, as together they spun moody, atmospheric, and multi-dimensional arrangements to house these shrewdly sensitive and acutely felt poems.
Across the album, Durack also confronts overwhelming turmoil and tragedy from external forces. She wrote heart-wrenching standout “Dean'' in the wake of a loved one’s suicide, recounting a vivid and powerful dream encounter with her late friend. “I was able to hug and thank this person who meant so much to me. I got to see him truly glowing—the happiest, most peaceful version of him imaginable,” she says. A four-minute slow burn of churning anxiety, “Worms” finds Durack attempting to sort through a dark and heavy time, culminating in a cathartic explosion of sneering guitar fuzz. The track builds to one of the loudest moments on the record, a breathtaking gut punch that proves how far she can stretch her vocals.
Blair Borax:
Born on the East Coast, and home to the West, Blair Borax’s musical journey began unexpectedly in 2016, when a friend gifted her a cheap guitar. Since then, Borax has become a prolific songwriter, recording artist, and performer, known for her distinctive voice, captivating melodies, and thoughtful songwriting that taps into the heart of being human. Since she quit her day job in 2022, she has released two full length albums and played over 300 shows across the country. With more sophisticated songwriting, a newfound confidence in fingerpicking guitar, and a move towards dynamic acoustic folk production, her latest record, “Tender Lately” (2024), offers gentle reminders to quiet the inner critic, find joy in the small things, and embrace the precious brevity of our time on Earth. She is poised to release her third full length record, The Color Green, in 2025.
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