Ethel Cain @ Union Stage [DC] - 7/24/2022

LIVE

Aug 5

Ethel Cain at Union Stage in DC (Photo ©2022 Hailey Collins)

Ethel Cain is the character concept and alter-ego of Hayden Anhedönia. Anhedönia’s first full-length project, Preacher’s Daughter, draws on influences from her life growing up in a conservative southern Baptist community. The album tells the story of Ethel Cain and explores themes of love, generational trauma, abuse, religion, and ultimately ends with her getting murdered and cannibalized.

Ethel’s sold-out show at Union Stage was her first time ever performing in D.C. She opted for a shorter 8 song setlist that highlighted the biggest moments on the album and allowed for the drawn-out slowcore-inspired songs to be performed in their entirety, including “House in Nebraska,” “Family Tree,” and “Hard Times.” Fans quietly sang along, letting her voice to take up the full space of the room, but they still made sure to scream iconic lines like “God loves you, but not enough to save you,” and “I owe you a black eye and two kisses, tell me when you wanna come and get ‘em.” Ethel interacted with the crowd the whole night, often walking up to fans in the front row and holding their hands while singing. She finished the show with one of her pop singles “Crush,” and then returned to the stage for an encore of an acapella version of “Strangers,” the conclusion of the album where Ethel is cannibalized by her lover.

Opening for Ethel Cain on the Freezer Bride Tour is Colyer, a singer/songwriter also from the south. He also joined Ethel on stage as her guitarist and perfectly executed the towering guitar solos on her songs. Colyer’s latest album, Lonestardom, is out now.