Christian Lee Hutson

Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson in 2017
Background information
Born	(1990-11-05) November 5, 1990 (age 33)
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Indie folk[1]
Labels	Anti-
Website	www.christianleehutson.com

Christian Lee Hutson (born November 5, 1990) is an American singer, musician and songwriter.^[2] He began his career as a member of The Driftwood Singers,^[3] before signing to ANTI‐ as a solo artist in 2019.^[4] Hutson has since released two full-length albums: Beginners (2020) and Quitters (2022). Both records were co-produced by his friend and fellow musician, Phoebe Bridgers.^[5]

In addition to his collaborations with Bridgers, Hutson is known for co-writing and performing songs with Samia,^[6] Marshall Vore,^[7] Whitmer Thomas,^[8] Conor Oberst and Ethan Gruska.^[7]

Early life[edit]

Hutson was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 5, 1990.^[9] He relocated to Los Angeles, California at the age of five;^[10] shortly after his mother remarried. According to a 2020 Under The Radar profile, Hutson attended a fundamentalist Christian elementary school.^[11]

Hutson began playing guitar at the age of 12;^[11] the first song that he learned to play was Elizabeth Cotten’s ‘Freight Train’.^[11] His earliest attempts at songwriting were influenced by vintage country records housed within his father’s record collection, including those released by Hank Williams.^[10]

As a teenager, Hutson enjoyed the music of John Prine, Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith.^[10] He ultimately dropped out of high school to pursue a musical career – a decision that was not supported by his parents.^[11] Hutson’s adolescent experiences later inspired the lyrics of ‘Northsiders’ and ‘Seven Lakes’,^[12][10] which are included on the 2020 album Beginners.

Career[edit]

The Driftwood Singers (c. 2010–2013)[edit]

Prior to embarking on a solo career, Hutson performed with Pearl Charles in The Driftwood Singers.^[3] The Driftwood Singers were described as having “an affinity and talent for the traditional country folk sound” in a 2011 Amarillo Globe-News profile.^[13] They began as an eight-piece ensemble, composed of students from the California Institute of the Arts, before reforming as a duo.^[13]

Hutson and Charles released their first EP, Look!, in November 2011.^[13] The Driftwood Singers also released a single, 'I Don't Live Here Anymore', and a self-titled album in 2012.^[14] By February 2013, Hutson and Charles had ended their musical partnership.^[15]

Solo career and collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers (2014–2019)[edit]

Hutson recorded his debut EP, We Will Never Break Up, in 2012.^[16] His first solo album, The Hell With It, was released on the independent label Trailer Fire Records the following year.^[3]

Trailer Fire Records also released Hutson’s sophomore solo record, Yeah Okay, I Know, in 2014.^[3] The album was produced by Grammy Award nominee David Mayfield.^[16] It spawned numerous singles, such as ‘They’re Gonna Hate Me’, ‘Dirty Little Cheat’ and ‘Mess’.^[17] As with The Hell With It, Yeah Okay, I Know was not widely reviewed and is not available on any streaming services.

Hutson was introduced to Phoebe Bridgers by her touring guitarist, Harrison Whitford, in 2018.^[12] Hutson has since co-written numerous songs on three projects featuring Bridgers – boygenius (2018), Better Oblivion Community Center (2019) and Punisher (2020).^[18][19] He also supported Bridgers on her 2019 world tour,^[11] and performed in the same capacity for boygenius’s 2019 European tour.^[11]

Hutson performed as a touring guitarist for Jenny Lewis during this time,^[20] in addition to supporting musical acts like Julia Jacklin and Okkervil River.^[11]

Beginners and The Version Suicides (2020–2021)[edit]

Hutson was signed to ANTI– in 2019.^[4] He released his first studio album, Beginners, on May 29, 2020.^[4] Beginners was named after the Raymond Carver short story cycle of the same name.^[21] Maeri Ferguson describes the album as “a spare and quiet collection of songs about the tenderness of adolescence, first love, heartbreak and the value of having a little perspective”.^[22] It was preceded by the single ‘Northsiders’.^[3]

Beginners was produced by Phoebe Bridgers.^[12] Prior to the recording sessions with Bridgers, four versions of Beginners were completed.^[10] The first was assisted by Dawes and Dash Hutton, a former drummer for the band Haim, and recorded in 2015.^[10] The third version was produced by Ethan Gruska, who has previously collaborated with Fiona Apple and Blake Mills.^[10] Meanwhile, the second and fourth versions were produced by unknown parties and failed to materialise.^[10]

The final version of Beginners features contributions from Lucy Dacus, Conor Oberst and Meg Duffy of Hand Habits.^[21] It was well-received by critics; earning a score of 7.8 from Pitchfork,^[19] alongside a Metascore of 75 that signals ‘mostly positive reviews’.^[23]

Hutson also released three EPs between 2020 and 2021, which are collectively known as ‘The Version Suicides’.^[24] The three volumes feature contributions from musicians like Shamir, Fenne Lily and Julia Jacklin, and involve a combination of humorous and sincere covers.^[24] Liz Phair’s ‘Why Can’t I?’, Taylor Swift’s ‘betty’ and The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ rank amongst the songs that Hutson has covered.^[24]

Before the release of Quitters in 2022, Hutson also performed on projects released by Hand Habits, Ada Lea, Whitmer Thomas and Sasami.^[8]

Quitters (2022–present)[edit]

Hutson began writing Quitters, his second album to be released via ANTI-, during the COVID-19 quarantine.^[25] The record was produced by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst and ultimately released on April 1, 2022.^[26] Quitters was preceded by the lead single ‘Rubberneckers’, which was co-written by Alex Lahey.^[27] Two additional singles, ‘Age Difference’ and ‘Strawberry Lemonade’, have also been released in support of the album.^[28]

Hutson states that, lyrically, Quitters touches on “adult experiences and changes and trying to become okay with yourself”.^[7] The LP also draws from numerous influences, including the Sofia Coppola film Somewhere, The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan and the Paolo Sorrentino film Youth.^[7] Quitters was recorded directly to analog tape – rather than in digital format – in an attempt to add warmth to the arrangements.^[29]

Like its predecessor, Quitters was reviewed by music publications like Pitchfork and The Line of Best Fit.^[26][30] Pitchfork bestowed a rating of 7.5 upon the album,^[26] which also received a 74 Metascore that suggests ‘generally favourable reviews’.^[31]

Between and 2022 and 2023, Hutson opened for Phoebe Bridgers on her international Reunion Tour.^[32]

Musical style[edit]

Rolling Stone describes Hutson’s music as a combination of “folk”, “Americana” and “retro-country”,^[10] while Hutson cites his musical influences as Elliott Smith, Hank Williams, Gillian Welch,^[10] Randy Newman^[33] and John Prine.^[10]

Hutson plays acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle in addition to singing.^[13] His early recordings possess a DIY or lo-fi quality;^[10] Bridgers attempted to preserve the “homespun” nature of Hutson’s original Voice Memo demos when producing Beginners.^[34]

Hutson also enjoys the prose of George Saunders, Haruki Murakami, Sally Rooney^[20] and Raymond Carver,^[21] and claims that all four authors have informed his songwriting.^[20]

Personal life[edit]

Hutson was married to Los Angeles singer-songwriter Sharon Silva.^[35][36]

Hutson has also been diagnosed with Pure OCD;^[37] he describes writing the Quitters song ‘OCDemon’ as a “therapeutic exercise”.^[37]

In 2020, Hutson gave free guitar lessons over Zoom to support the Black Lives Matter movement.^[38] He has also supported various bail projects throughout the United States.^[38]

Hutson has several tattoos, one of which pays tribute to Hank Williams.^[12]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Extended plays[edit]

Singles[edit]

References[edit]