How much is Sharon Van Etten worth?
| Net Worth: | $10 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | February 26, 1981 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
About Sharon Van Etten
Singer-songwriter Sharon Katharine Van Etten is based in Brooklyn, New York. The most recent studio album by Van Etten, who was born on February 26, 1981, is Remind Me Tomorrow (2019). She sings sluggish, depressing, and brutally honest confessionals on what it’s like to be in a bad relationship. Cat Power-like in her slurred, melancholy voice, Van Etten prefers double-tracked vocals with lots of harmony, as does Chan Marshall.
Born: 1981, Nutley, New Jersey
Key Albums: Because I Was in Love (2009), Epic (2010), Tramp (2012)
Young Years
Van Etten was exposed to the Kinks and Beatles LPs when he was a young child because his family was musical. Growing up, she participated in choirs and school musicals while also learning the clarinet and piano. As a teenager, she started teaching herself how to play the guitar and create songs. She reflected on her early attempts at composing, saying, “I felt better after every time that I sang, but I didn’t exactly know why,”
Van Etten relocated from New Jersey to Middle Tennessee State in 1999 with the intention of pursuing a career as a live sound engineer. Van Etten ran an all-ages, vegetarian café/printing studio/record store in Murfreesboro before leaving school after a year because she was “not a good student,” Van Etten did not, however, take the stage.
Van Etten would say, “I tried to pursue music, but the guy I was seeing wasn’t at all encouraging. I was forced to write and play in private in my room as a result. After that, whenever he would leave town, I would go perform at an open-mic… and just blow up. I’ve been repressing this for so long! Finally, he’s gone! I was concerned that it was excessive for folks.
Van Etten eventually made a visit home in 2004 after spending years trapped in the toxic relationship and tried to rebuild her life. With the help of her family, Van Etten started performing live after using music as therapy to write a number of introspective songs about being imprisoned in an unhealthy relationship.
Van Etten started creating her own CDRs of her songs that she self-released, and she gave one to Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, whose brother Van Etten had been acquainted with in high school. Van Etten recalled the incident to AV Club, saying, “He said, “You need to move to New York.” “He truly gave me my start in Brooklyn. He helped book my first couple of performances, he connected me to places in New York. I feel quite fortunate.
Espers, a Philadelphia-based acid-folk band, ended up with another accidental home-made CD. It turned out to be fortunate: guitarist/producer Greg Weeks would soon start rolling tape on Van Etten’s debut album, and singer Meg Baird would bring Van Etten on tour with her.
Beginnings
Because I Was in Love, produced by Weeks and distributed on his Language of Stone label, was released by Van Etten in 2009. The album maintained the harsh and eerie feel of Van Etten’s tracks, with the songwriter double-tracking every line and dragging out every syllable.
Van Etten also contributed vocals to The Antlers’ breakthrough album Hospice, which was hailed as one of the best albums of 2009.
Van Etten’s music was becoming well-known by 2010, as seen by the live performances of his songs by Bon Iver and The National. Van Etten’s fame was raised through appearances on the Take Away Show, as the opening act at the Pitchfork Music Festival, and as the opening act for Junip, a band led by José González.
Epic, Van Etten’s second album, was eventually released as a result. Van Etten’s authoritative performance on the record, underlined by the starkly exposed “Love More,” a story about being imprisoned in a relationship set exclusively to a wheezing harmonium, showed him getting over any stage fright.
Breakout
Van Etten began playing steadily bigger performances after the release of Epic; she opened for The Antlers, The National, and Neko Case and performed with Megafaun and Bon Iver. She signed to Jagjaguwar and gave 2012’s Tramp on Bon Iver’s advice.
Tramp was a larger, more ambitious, and more rocking concert, with electric guitars and orchestral swells supporting Van Etten’s depressing songs. It was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner and featured members of The National, The Walkmen, Wye Oak, and Julianna Barwick.
