The National Presents: There’s No Leaving New York is the antithesis of the overflowing multistage festivals that have become a staple of the live music scene. On Saturday and Sunday, The National, along with Adia Victoria, Phoebe Bridgers, Cigarettes After Sex, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Bully, U.S. Girls, Cat Power, Future Islands, will descend upon Forest Hills Stadium in Queens for the single stage event.
Both days end with closing sets by The National, the indie stalwarts whose 2017 album, “Sleep Well Beast,” was lauded by nearly every critic — professional and otherwise — who heard it. Saturday and Sunday’s lineups also include two female solo artists each. Here they are:
Saturday
Adia Victoria
Hailing from Nashville, the South Carolina-bred singer/guitarist is known for her blues-rocker style that oozes with Deep South influences and is spiked with religious themes and spine-tingling imagery of violence, loneliness and racial inequality. Her song inspired by the Seventh Amendment was recently released as part of the Radiolab offshoot More Perfect’s album “27: The Most Perfect Album.”
Phoebe Bridgers
Since releasing her debut LP, “Stranger in the Alps,” in 2017 to critical acclaim, Bridgers has propelled herself into the-one-to-watch thanks to her spot with Lord Huron on the soundtrack for Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why,” an appearance on “Conan,” her supergroup boygenius featuring Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, and shared lineups with Sylvan Esso and Conor Oberst. The combination of her gentle vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and searing melodies turn every song into a tear-jerker. Bring tissues.
Sunday
U.S. Girls
Despite what the name implies, U.S. Girls is actually just U.S. Girl — a highly experimental solo project from American-born, Toronto-based singer and multidisciplinary artist Meghan Remy. For a decade, Remy has been creating emotionally wrought, synth-heavy music. Her most recent album, “In a Poem Unlimited,” is the combined efforts of over 20 collaborators including members of Cosmic Range, the genre-eschewing music collective.
Cat Power
With her new album, “Wanderer,” dropping on Oct. 5, and her international tour starting the same day, Cat Power has come a long way since releasing her last record, “Sun,” in 2012. The singer, known for songs like “Sea of Love” and “The Greatest,” re-emerges with a profound self-assurance, evident in her single “Woman” which features backing vocals from Lana Del Rey.
If you go
The National Presents: There’s No Leaving New York is a at Forest Hills Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 2 p.m., shows start at 3:30 p.m., 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills, foresthillsstadium.com, $80-$200
