Liza Feels Fine

Nashville songwriter Liza Anne remembers the date of her first concert better than she remembers some of her loved ones’ birthdays.

The concert was Hilary Duff, who at the time was lumped in with other disposable teen idols like Britney Spears. Duff’s creative voice and songwriting, however, have proven surprisingly relevant to fans of Anne’s generation.

“It was my door to feeling fierce and powerful,” Anne recalls. Anne’s parents were religious, she says, so they “wouldn’t let me listen to Bikini Kill or Sleater Kinney.” Duff had to do, and Duff led Anne to her life as a touring musician.

As a “terribly awkward kid,” she explains, she needed a space to be angrier and louder. “It forces you to find new ways of inhabiting yourself,” she says of her experience as a performer.

Anne stops by Eugene supporting her well-received 2018 release Fine but Dying. There is nothing particularly Duff on the record. It’s closer to ’90s-era Cranberries than millennial pop, but Anne’s voice has a youthful quality, like freshly laundered linen on a clothes line, and the songwriting has moments of engrossing, close-to-the-skin intimacy as well as some endearingly awkward over-sharing.

On the album track “Socks,” Anne compares her lover to a pair of socks. “You’re my favorite pair,” she sings. “Wouldn’t want to throw you in the wash.” It’s a metaphor best left in the diary.

But elsewhere, like on album-opener “Paranoia,” the fireworks align and there’s a lovely sense of the younger generation telling us what’s next.

Anne’s Eugene show is Monday, a tough night to draw an audience, but she’s not worried. She calls an off-night show a “less-pressure situation. Whoever is gonna be there,” she says, “is supposed to be there.”

Liza Anne plays an early show 7:30 pm Monday, March 26, at Hi-Fi Lounge; $10 advance, $12 door. 21 plus.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!