My first encounter with Torres (Mackenzie Scott) and her music was back in 2013 down in Austin, Texas, during SXSW on the heels of her debut release, Torres, and she was first hitting the scene. It was love at first listen and I was personally hooked.

In the years since, Scott has been nonstop as she released her sixth album, What an Enormous Room this past week on Merge Records. For me, when life has gotten “lifey” and I’ve delved into music to help me dig myself out, Torres has always been there with her music to aid in that guiding light. On a snowy Thursday evening, she closed out the second night of the Tomorrow Never Knows Fest at Lincoln Hall. Humbly grateful for everyone there she shared a slew of new songs from the upcoming album along with the favorites. As fate would have it in a post-pandemic world, I was introduced to the work of both visual artist and Scott’s wife, Jenna Gribbon.

Not knowing the connection between the two, her paintings brought me back to Torres’ music enjoying it on another layer while seeing a level of vulnerability, usually heard in her lyrics in the paintings Gribbons creates. Much like the paintings of Scott, which are larger than life, her music has her in store for a year where she won’t have any problem filling the enormous rooms she’ll be playing! 

Setlist:
Happy Man’s Shoes +
Are you sleeping?
Skim
Cowboy Guilt
Forever Home +
Sprinter
Jerk into Joy +
Three Futures
I Got the Fear +
Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in my Head
Wake to Flowers +
Thirstier
Marble Focus
Artificial Limits +
Life as we Don’t Know It +
Collect +
Helen in the Woods

Encore:
Gracious Day

+ new songs