Courtney Marie Andrews, an indie-folk singer-songwriter, is returning to Modified Arts Tuesday to celebrate the release of her fifth album “On My Page.”
Andrews, a Phoenix native, recorded her first three albums and performed frequently in downtown before she moved to Seattle in 2011.
The show Tuesday is not just a look ahead for Andrews, but also a look back for Modified Arts, which used to function as a music venue.
“I wanted to come back and have a release party in Phoenix because I still feel like this is my home in some way,” Andrews said.
The show was arranged by Andrews and Kimber Lanning, owner of Modified and Stinkweeds record store.
The show is a “bring your own pillow” event. Andrews encourages attendees to bring whatever cushions they need to get comfy, though the venue will also provide chairs for anyone who needs them.
“I used to do that a lot at my shows when I played 10 years ago,” Andrews said. “People really seem to like that. It’s an art gallery, so you can really decorate it how you want. It’s super empty and it’s made for possibilities.”
Watching an arresting video of Andrews performing her new song “It Keeps Going,” shared on the event’s Facebook page, the setting makes sense, as her music is warm, tender and comforting.
Andrews described the new album as more traditional, country-influenced and ballad-centric than her previous work. The songs from the new album recall the masterful, pining songwriting of talents such as Stevie Nicks, Joanna Newsom or Mark Kozelek.
Andrews marked the releases of her first, second and third albums — “Urban Myths” (2008), “Painters Hands and a Seventh Son” (2009) and “For One I Knew” (2010) — with performances at Modified. Only her fourth album, “No One’s Slate Is Clean” (2011), did not have a Modified debut.
Musical performances still happen at Modified — the acoustic M&M Duo, members of blues band The Sugar Thieves, played there just last weekend — but Lanning said she consciously transitioned away from musical performances and toward visual arts several years ago.
“The concept of Modified was to enable and empower local musicians, painters, dancers, whoever to learn how to run their own businesses,” Lanning said. “It enabled bands to make enough money to get up on their own feet, and that was the reason Modified existed.”
Lanning said she opened Modified as a training ground for local bands, and recruited volunteers to run the gallery for shows. The cost for musicians to use the space for a show was set at $160, a purposely low barrier of entry that was meant to keep the venue accessible to nearly anyone who wanted a space to perform.
Since its opening in 1999, Modified has not only hosted a plethora of local artists, but also big-name acts like Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes and TV on the Radio.
But the frequency of concerts at Modified decreased because it became increasingly difficult to manage the shows and maintain the space.
One night, after an intern didn’t show up to a scheduled shift, Lanning decided that it had become too difficult to find reliable volunteers. Soon after, she “ripped the stage out with her bare hands.”
“The community either has to learn to carry itself, or it has to learn the hard way,” Lanning said.
With her history at Modified, Andrews is a clear example of the kind of artist that Lanning enjoys having at the venue.
“She obviously comes from a background of understanding what it is to be a part of this community and to work hard for this community,” Lanning said. “She’s everything we stand for.”
The show was scheduled as a special event, and is not likely to lead to a new surge of musical activity at Modified.
“It seems like it’s a one-off thing,” Andrews said. “But I know a lot of people love the space, and it’s pretty nostalgic to be able to play there.”
New Mexico-based band Pioneers of Prime Time TV have traveled to Phoenix to accompany Andrews for about five songs during the set. The band toured with Andrews twice and even wrote an unreleased song with her.
“She’s very passionate about music and most things in her life,” Pioneers member Jon Berry said. “I don’t know any other songwriters as prolific as she is. But she’s also a lot of fun to hang out with, which makes it easy to jam with her and want to make music with her.”
Tickets to the show can be purchased for $8 in advance from Stinkweeds or $10 before the show. Robin Vining of Sweetbleeders will open the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Contact the reporter at bkutzler@asu.edu.
