SLOW TRAVEL BERLIN
Sondre Lerche, Kantine am Berghain, 8pm
At age 32, Norwegian singer-songwriter heartthrob Sondre Lerche has already spent more than half his life writing songs and performing them; his first song was penned when he was 14, and it wasn’t long after that he was ‘discovered’, which kickstarted his path toward becoming a full-time musician.
For most of his career, Lerche has won over listeners with romantic tunes and endearing lyrics, so when it comes to his seventh full-length, this year’s Please, it’s an interesting departure – or perhaps evolution – for him. A tried-and-true breakup album (Lerche and his wife of nearly a decade split in 2013), the lyrics on Please run the emotional gamut from sad and wistful, to apologetic and grateful.
But though Lerche’s lyrics have always shone bright, his guitar work has always been the real star, and this time around is no exception. Having been trained in classical and jazz styles since he was eight, Lerche is intimately familiar with his instrument’s in and outs, and he knows both how to get fancy and how to shred among the best of them.
After a month-long tour through the U.S., Lerche heads over the Europe on Oct. 27 to kick off a European stint, before continuing on to Japan, Korea, Australia and Indonesia. Catch his headlining show in Berlin, his first visit to the Hauptstadt since October 2011. Natalye Childress
Kantine am Berghain, Am Wriezener Bahnhof, 10243 Berlin; S: Ostbahnhof; admission €15.