Band of the Week: Liz Durrett

Hometown: Rome, Ga.
Sole Member: Liz Durrett
Fun Fact: At the age of 16, Durrett received a guitar from her uncle, Vic Chesnutt, who encouraged her to explore the world of songwriting. This gift quickly turned into a passion, and Durrett began writing her own music shortly after receiving the instrument.
Why She’s Worth Watching: Durrett, whose gentle, whispery vocals and effortless instrumentations will quickly captivate listeners, is already planning and writing songs for her third album, which she hopes to create by herself at home on a laptop. “I want to play all the instruments myself, and I want to come up with all the parts slowly over time and record them,” she says.
For Fans Of: Beth Orton, Cat Power

In 1991, when the legendary acoustic folk singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt went into the studio to record his second album, West of Rome, he commissioned his 14-year-old niece to perform on the record. A young Liz Durrett, equipped with a violin, stepped up to the plate, and her uncle, a seasoned musician, must have sensed the musical roots had taken hold of the girl. Durrett continued to perform on Chesnutt’s albums and began accompanying him on tour. In fact, last year for the first time ever, Durrett joined her uncle for a complete tour in Europe, playing bass in his band.

“I think there’s a commonality there between us in some ways,” Durrett says of Chesnutt. “I think Vic and I both have a sort of love or obsession with language or words, and I can see that in him and I can see that in myself. I know that’s one thing that I was most drawn to Vic’s music when I was a kid, was the language … and what he could do with humor and sadness and the intertwining of the two.”

Now, it’s Chesnutt who is lending skills to Durrett’s albums, the most recent being January release The Mezzanine. Although her uncle produced and performed on the disc, the sophomore effort was a huge step toward independence for Durrett, who says she relied heavily on others when producing her first album, Husk. “I was really excited about working with Vic again, but as an adult this time, and more as part of the team.”

Unlike Husk, which sat shelved for 10 years before seeing its 2005 release (Durrett recorded the disc as a demo while still in high school, but refrained from releasing it partly due to insecurities about the songs), The Mezzanine is a product of a much more confident performer. “I’m just more comfortable in general in my skin, with my music, with who I am as a person, all that stuff,” Durrett says. “All of that is reflected in how I feel about the record, too.”