In The Meadow With Madison Cunningham

Among pots of lush greenery and lavender, Madison Cunningham soundtracked a mystical night at Ardmore Music Hall Thursday. Touring on her newest album Ace, Cunningham took the stage with such a strong confidence in the face of the heartbreaking themes of the new album.

Cunningham has made a name for herself as a brilliant and quick guitarist. On her last tour, she stopped at Ardmore Music Hall with Argentine guitarist Juana Molina, and the two conducted a master class on intuitive guitar playing. This time around, Cunningham focused less on rocking and more on delicately creating soundscapes that felt fantastical. It was no less impressive or engaging, but a contrast from her last time in town.

By her side this time was fellow multi-instrumentalist Jesse Chandler, who was responsible for the woodwinds on the album. In the live show, he was balancing what seemed like infinite loops between even more instruments. The flute, clarinet and bass clarinet, and  a myriad of table-top instruments I wasn’t tall enough to see were all his responsibility. Watching them play together was stunning, but not for the way his instruments meshed with Cunningham’s guitar or piano. Instead, they treated the woodwinds almost like background singers. She was following them vocally, and vice versa. It catapulted us into this brand new world where the sound felt all encompassing. Hearing Ace live felt like opening your eyes for the first time in a warm, soft meadow. Instead of birds chirping, there’s flute playing and singing.

One of the more notable moments from the night was a truly incredible rendition of “Hospital,” off her 2023 release Revealer. In an interview with That Pedal Show, she discussed Chandler’s use of an octave pedal for his bass clarinet, which gave an added grittiness to the song that really worked in its favor.

She ended the set as she began it: behind the piano. She closed out with “Life According to Raechel” and “Song In My Head,” both traditionally sung while playing guitar. The piano added a sort of wistfulness to two already very delicate songs about grief and obsoletion, about doing things that matter for longer than we’re alive.

Opener Annika Bennett read almost like a student of Cunningham’s. She writes clever chord progressions and interesting lyrics. It was their last night together, and Cunningham said this was the first time she handpicked her opener. These two artists sharing a stage made sense.