Anne Erin “Annie” Clark, professionally known as St. Vincent, is a singer, songwriter, artist, actress, producer, and otherworldly guitarist that can be best described as a complete enigma. Her music spans genres and her sound is wholly unique. Despite her relatively young career, St. Vincent’s musical journey is vast, varied, and altogether inspiring.
Annie Clark grew up in Texas, began playing guitar at age 12, and as a teenager, worked as a roadie for her aunt and uncle, the guitar-vocal jazz duo Tuck & Patti. Clark attended Berklee College of Music for three years before touring with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens soon thereafter. It was around this time that she would adopt her celebrated pseudonym, St. Vincent.
St. Vincent’s debut studio album, Marry Me, was released in 2007. Though achieving little mainstream success, the album was well-received by critics who compared Vincent to the likes of David Bowie. Her second album, Actor, was written largely on the computer in her apartment and peaked at No. 9 on Billboard’s Independent Albums Chart. That same year, St. Vincent and Bon Iver collaborated on a soundtrack for the Twilight Saga: New Moon, titled, “Roslyn.”
Steadily climbing her way to a deserved level of acclaim, in 2012, St. Vincent collaborated with Talking Heads founder and legend, David Byrne. The duo would release two consecutive albums, 2012’s Love this Giant and 2013’s Brass Tactics. Her fourth album, St. Vincent was released in 2014 and won a 2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Alternative Music Album, making St. Vincent the second female solo artist to win the award since its inception in 1991. In 2016, Clark directed a segment of XX, a horror anthology film featuring all-female directors. That same year she designed a signature Music Man guitar for Ernie Ball, becoming the first woman ever to create her own electric guitar for the mass market.
In 2017, she released her fifth album, MASSEDUCTION, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and awarded Clark even further acclaim. The title track would go on to win Best Rock Song at the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards. As for the present day, St. Vincent’s sixth album, Daddy’s Home, continues her long and deserved GRAMMY-nominated streak.
As a dynamic artist with multitudes of talent in writing, singing, directing, playing, and innovation, St. Vincent is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Through her numerous and varied accomplishments, she has proven to be a versatile artist destined for legendary status.
Written by Victoria Shaffer