St. Vincent (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Vincent
St. Vincent at the Hollywood Palladium in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Anne Erin Clark
Also known as	Annie Clark
Born	(1982-09-28) September 28, 1982 (age 43) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Origin	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Rock pop art rock indie rock
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter record producer
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass keyboards theremin percussion
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Beggars Banquet 4AD Loma Vista Republic Caroline Total Pleasure Records

Anne Erin Clark (born September 28, 1982), known as St. Vincent, is a talented American musician, singer, and songwriter. She is famous for her unique guitar playing, which blends beautiful melodies with cool, distorted sounds. Many people consider her one of the best guitarists of our time. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine recognized her as the 26th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023!

St. Vincent grew up in Dallas, Texas. She started her music journey with a rock band called the Polyphonic Spree. Later, she toured with musician Sufjan Stevens before starting her own solo career in 2006. Her first album, Marry Me, came out in 2007. She has released several other successful albums, including Actor (2009) and Strange Mercy (2011).

In 2012, St. Vincent worked with David Byrne from Talking Heads on an album called Love This Giant. Her fourth album, St. Vincent (2014), was highly praised by critics and won a Grammy Award. She also collaborated with producer Jack Antonoff on albums like Masseduction (2017) and Daddy's Home (2021). Her most recent album, All Born Screaming, was released in 2024.

Beyond her own music, St. Vincent has produced albums for other artists, like Sleater-Kinney. She also helped write the popular song "Cruel Summer" for Taylor Swift. St. Vincent has even directed a short film and co-wrote and starred in a movie called The Nowhere Inn. She has won six Grammy Awards, including three for Best Alternative Music Album, which is a record!

St. Vincent's Early Life and Musical Journey

Anne Erin Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 28, 1982. Her mother worked as a social worker, and her stepfather was involved in corporate tax. Her parents separated when she was three years old. When she was seven, she moved to Dallas, Texas, with her mother and two older sisters.

Clark grew up with a big family, having four brothers and four sisters from her parents' blended families. As a child, she loved the musician Ritchie Valens and the movie La Bamba. For Christmas when she was five, her mother gave her a red plastic guitar. She started playing her first real guitar at age 12. She took lessons from a local guitar shop employee named Tony Hyatt. During her teenage years, she also worked as a roadie for her aunt and uncle, who were a jazz duo called Tuck & Patti.

In 2001, Clark graduated from Lake Highlands High School. There, she participated in theater and played in the school's jazz band. She later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. After three years, she decided to leave. She felt that art schools sometimes focused more on the look of art rather than the actual creation of music. She believed that musicians eventually need to learn what they can and then use their own creativity.

Starting Her Amazing Music Career

In 2003, St. Vincent released an EP with other students from Berklee. Soon after leaving college, she returned to Texas. She joined the Polyphonic Spree just before they went on a European tour. In 2004, she also performed with Glenn Branca's 100-guitar orchestra. Clark left the Polyphonic Spree in 2006 to join Sufjan Stevens' touring band. During this time, she recorded an EP called Paris Is Burning.

In 2006, she began recording her first studio album under the stage name St. Vincent. She explained that she chose the name from a line in a Nick Cave song. The song mentioned the hospital where the poet Dylan Thomas passed away. The name also honors her great-grandmother, whose middle name was St. Vincent.

First Album Success: Marry Me

St. Vincent released her first album, Marry Me, on July 10, 2007. The album's title was inspired by a line from the TV show Arrested Development. Critics really liked the album. They praised its musical arrangements, themes, and unique style. Some compared her to famous artists like Kate Bush and David Bowie.

The A.V. Club noted how the album explored the idea that too much happiness can sometimes feel like madness. Pitchfork highlighted how the album made complex music sound natural and easy to enjoy. St. Vincent wrote most of the songs on Marry Me when she was 18 and 19. She said these songs showed an idealized view of life and love from someone who hadn't experienced much yet. The album featured one single, "Paris Is Burning."

Creating Soundtracks and the Actor Album

In 2008, Clark was nominated for three PLUG Independent Music Awards. She won the PLUG Female Artist of the Year award on March 6, 2008. After a long tour, she started working on her second album in New York. She found inspiration from various films, including Disney movies. Clark explained that watching films helped her reconnect with being human after touring.

She began writing the album in her apartment using GarageBand and MIDI on her computer. This was because her neighbors had complained about noise. The songs were largely inspired by scenes from children's films. Clark imagined creating soundtracks for specific movie scenes, like those in Snow White (1937) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Her second album, Actor, came out on May 5, 2009. It also received great reviews and gained more attention. Spin magazine praised how the album combined harsh and gentle elements. They noted the complex music and her beautiful voice, which highlighted the darker themes in her songs. Entertainment Weekly called it a "uniquely potent cocktail of sounds and moods." Actor did well on independent music charts. Music videos were released for "Marrow" and "Actor Out of Work."

St. Vincent's songs have also appeared in The Twilight Saga films. "Rosyln," a collaboration with Bon Iver, was on the 2009 soundtrack for New Moon. "The Antidote" was written for the 2012 film Breaking Dawn – Part 2. In November 2010, Clark performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with rappers Kid Cudi and Cage. They performed "Maniac," which used a sample from St. Vincent's song "The Strangers."

Collaborations and the Strange Mercy Album

Clark spent much of October 2010 in Seattle writing her third album, Strange Mercy. She described her routine: waking up, drinking coffee, running, going to the studio for 12 hours, then having dinner alone with a book. On January 12, 2011, Clark announced on Twitter that she was working on Strange Mercy. Producer John Congleton, who also worked on Actor, helped her record it.

On July 4, Clark promised to release a song from the album if enough followers tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy." When the goal was met on July 22, she released "Surgeon" for download. In August 2011, Clark was featured on the cover of Spin magazine. A music video for the song "Cruel" was released on August 24, 2011. The entire album was available for streaming on NPR Music on September 5.

St. Vincent debuted Strange Mercy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She introduced her new live band members: Toko Yasuda, Matt Johnson, and Daniel Mintseris. The album was officially released on September 13, 2011.

Strange Mercy received widespread praise from music critics. It became St. Vincent's highest-charting album at the time, reaching No. 19 on the US Billboard 200. Clark toured the US and Europe in late 2011 and continued a worldwide tour throughout 2012 to support the album.

In 2011, Clark created an instrumental piece called "Proven Badlands." In 2012, she sang on "Lusitania" for Andrew Bird's album Break It Yourself. On June 14, 2012, "Who" was released. This was the first song from her collaboration with David Byrne of Talking Heads. Their album, Love This Giant, came out on September 11, 2012. Clark also contributed vocals to "What's the Use of Won'drin'" on Amanda Palmer's album Who Killed Amanda Palmer.

Grammy Win with the St. Vincent Album

On May 28, 2013, David Byrne and St. Vincent released Brass Tactics. This included a bonus track from Love This Giant, two remixes, and two live songs. In November 2013, Clark received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts. She then signed with Loma Vista Recordings. The new label released "Birth in Reverse" the next month. This was the first single from Clark's fourth album, St. Vincent.

The second single, "Digital Witness", was released in January 2014. The album itself came out the following month and was highly praised by critics. Many publications, including The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, and NME, named it the No. 1 album of 2014. Time ranked it No. 2, and Rolling Stone placed it at No. 4. Clark won her first Grammy in February 2015, as St. Vincent was awarded "Best Alternative Music Album."

On April 10, 2014, Clark joined Nirvana on stage. She sang lead vocals on "Lithium" at the 29th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. She also provided vocals for the Swans' album To Be Kind. On August 12 and 13, 2014, Clark filled in as band leader for the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She toured the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia throughout 2014. She also opened for the Black Keys at the end of the year. Her Digital Witness tour continued into the summer of 2015. She performed with the Pixies and Beck at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015.

A demo of "Teenage Talk", a song she had recorded but not included on her album, premiered on the HBO series Girls on March 10, 2015. The song was released as a single on April 6. On May 17, 2015, Clark performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. This was part of the first Soluna: International Music & Arts Festival.

Exploring New Sounds with Masseduction

On April 12, 2016, it was announced that Clark would direct a segment in the horror film XX. This was an anthology film directed by women. In June 2017, St. Vincent released "New York". This was the first single from her fifth album. The Fear the Future Tour was announced in June 2017, with shows from October 2017 to February 2018.

Masseduction, Clark's fifth studio album, was released in October 2017. It received "universal acclaim" from critics. In the US, Masseduction debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. This was St. Vincent's first album to reach the top ten on that chart.

St. Vincent performing with her Ernie Ball Music Man signature guitar during her Fear the Future Tour

Clark was the ambassador for Record Store Day in 2017, making her the first female ambassador. In 2018, she went on the I Am a Lot Like You! Tour to promote the album further. She performed at Coachella in April. One of her performances, "Slow Disco," inspired a new version of the song called "Fast Slow Disco," released in June. She also released MassEducation, an acoustic version of her previous album. This album was praised for her versatile lyrics and strong vocals. That same year, St. Vincent worked with the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. She produced their ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold, which was released the following year.

In 2019, St. Vincent performed at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She joined Dua Lipa for a medley of her song "Masseduction," Aretha Franklin's "Respect," and Lipa's "One Kiss." That same night, "Masseduction" won the Grammy for Best Rock Song. That summer, St. Vincent was credited as a co-writer on "Cruel Summer" with Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff. This song appeared on Swift's album Lover (2019). In December, she released Masseduction Rewired, a collection of remixes.

Daddy's Home: Music and Movies

In 2020, St. Vincent played guitar on "Texas Man" and co-wrote "Young Man" for the Chicks' album Gaslighter. In August 2020, St. Vincent worked with Japanese musician Yoshiki. They released a classical version of "New York." In October 2020, St. Vincent's online class on Creativity and Songwriting was added to the MasterClass series. In late 2020, St. Vincent was featured on the song "Chalk Tablet Towers" from the Song Machine project by Gorillaz.

Clark during the Daddy's Home Tour at the 2021 Shaky Knees Music Festival

On December 15, 2020, St. Vincent announced she would release her sixth studio album in 2021. On February 25, 2021, posters revealed the Daddy's Home album would be released on May 14, 2021. The album's first single, "Pay Your Way in Pain", came out on March 4, 2021, with a music video. The second single, "The Melting of the Sun", was released on April 1, 2021. Two days later, St. Vincent was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She performed both "Pay Your Way in Pain" and "The Melting of the Sun."

St. Vincent starred in the 2020 psychological thriller film The Nowhere Inn. She co-wrote the script with Carrie Brownstein. The film was about a fictional attempt to make a documentary about St. Vincent's music career. She also wrote the film's soundtrack, which was released on September 17, 2021. She contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Sad but True" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.

On April 3, 2022, Daddy's Home won the award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. On June 3, 2022, St. Vincent released her cover of Lipps Inc.'s "Funkytown". This song appeared on the soundtrack for Illumination's film Minions: The Rise of Gru. On February 13, 2023, St. Vincent joined Yoshiki on stage at Royal Albert Hall. They performed an orchestral version of "New York." In September 2023, St. Vincent performed in the music documentary film Yoshiki: Under the Sky.

All Born Screaming: Latest Music

St. Vincent in 2024 during her All Born Screaming Tour

On February 29, 2024, St. Vincent released "Broken Man". This was the lead single from her seventh studio album, All Born Screaming, which came out on April 26, 2024. A second single, "Flea", was released on March 28. On the same day, the All Born Screaming Tour was officially announced. Upon its release, the album received great reviews from critics.

A profile in The New York Times after the album's release noted her unique place in music. It described her as staying true to her artistic vision. The new album's songs were labeled as some of her heaviest and most experimental. Clark said she personally wanted music that felt "dangerous" at that time.

On November 15, 2024, St. Vincent released a Spanish-language version of All Born Screaming. It was titled Todos Nacen Gritando. Clark mentioned that translating and recording the album was a way to thank her Spanish-speaking fans.

On February 2, 2025, St. Vincent attended the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. She won in three categories: Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Alternative Music Album. Her third win for Best Alternative Music Album set a new record for a female solo artist.

On September 3, 2025, St. Vincent performed at the BBC Proms. She was joined by Jules Buckley and his orchestra. This performance marked the final date of her All Born Screaming Tour.

St. Vincent's Unique Music Style

David Bowie and Kate Bush have influenced Clark.

St. Vincent's music is known for her mezzo-soprano voice. It features many different instruments and complex musical arrangements. Her lyrics are often deep and can have several meanings. They have been described as balancing between "happiness and madness." Clark explained that she likes when things surprise you in music. She relates this to how quickly feelings can change, especially for someone who experiences anxiety.

Besides guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, organ, and theremin. Her music often includes violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, and clarinets. Her musical style is a mix of rock, pop, art rock, and indie rock. She draws inspiration from many genres, including experimental rock, chamber pop, electropop, soft rock, and cabaret jazz.

Clark has mentioned that singers like David Bowie and Kate Bush inspired her. She also looked up to Jimi Hendrix and Siouxsie and the Banshees. She once said she listens to a Bowie song every day. Other influences include Talking Heads, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Patti Smith, and Pink Floyd. Guitarists like Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Marc Ribot, and the band Tool also inspired her. Clark cited the author Lorrie Moore as an inspiration for her album St. Vincent.

Her Special Guitars

Clark's signature Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent HHH guitar

Clark has played various guitars over the years. These include a 1967 Harmony Bobkat and a 1960s Silvertone 1488. She also used a 1979 Hagström Super Swede and a Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster. In recent years, she mainly plays her own signature Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent guitar.

Signature Guitar Design

In March 2016, Ernie Ball announced that Clark had designed her own signature Music Man guitar. The guitar had a unique design. The guitar was first released in 2016 as the St. Vincent HHH. It featured three mini-humbucker pickups. It came in a special "Vincent Blue" finish, a color Clark personally mixed. It was also available in black.

In 2017, four more colors were added: Polaris White, Heritage Red, Tobacco Burst, and Stealth Black. 2017 was also the last year for a solid rosewood neck and fingerboard. This was due to strict rules on rosewood trade. Later models used a roasted maple neck with an ebony fingerboard. A St. Vincent HH signature model was released in 2018. This version had two humbucker pickups instead of three mini-humbuckers.

In 2021, a new St. Vincent Goldie signature model was released. It featured three gold foil mini-humbucker pickups. It also had a matching headstock, a redesigned pickguard, a roasted maple neck, and stainless steel frets. Many famous musicians use this guitar. These include Jack White, Tom Morello, J Mascis, and Dan Boeckner.

About St. Vincent

Clark divides her time between Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York City. She is known for being a private person. David Byrne, who toured with her, once said that despite their time together, he didn't know her much on a personal level. He felt that a bit of mystery can be a good thing for an artist.

Her album Daddy's Home was inspired by her father's return home.

Discography

Studio albums

• Marry Me (2007)
• Actor (2009)
• Strange Mercy (2011)
• St. Vincent (2014)
• Masseduction (2017)
• Daddy's Home (2021)
• All Born Screaming (2024)

Collaborative albums

• Love This Giant (with David Byrne) (2012)

Tours

• Marry Me Tour (2007–08)
• Actor Tour (2009–10)
• Strange Mercy Tour (2011–12)
• Love This Giant Tour (with David Byrne) (2012–13)
• Digital Witness Tour (2014–15)
• Fear the Future Tour (2017–18)
• I Am a Lot Like You! Tour (2018–19)
• Daddy's Home Tour (2021–23)
• All Born Screaming Tour (2024–25)

Awards and Achievements

St. Vincent has received many awards for her music. She has won several Grammy Awards, which are among the most prestigious honors in music.

See also

In Spanish: St. Vincent (cantante) para niños