If you were to fish the internet for tunes by Misty Lyn and the Big Beautiful, you’d find plenty from their debut album, “For The Dead.” And, chances are, you’d love it for the moving lyrics and folk-y, Americana sound. But that was in 2009, and Misty Lyn Bergeron – the gifted chanteuse that leads the Big Beautiful – will be the first to say that it’s not a great representation of who the band is today.
“If you listen to the first record, it doesn’t really represent what we sound like now. It’s three years old. Our live show actually has a lot of different genres blended into it,” she says. Bergeron and Co. were set to release their sophomore album in the winter of ’11 – needless to say, that didn’t happen.
“Actually the new material has nothing to do with that record. This is even newer material,” says Bergeron with a laugh. “The record has been delayed for various reasons. When you think it’s gonna be done, it just takes longer than you think every time.” Bergeron is aiming for a fall release, but that begs the question: What is she making now?
If you’ve suddenly found yourself daydreaming of new summer jams, the only way to feast your ears on what Bergeron has to offer is to catch one of the band’s live shows, such as their slot on iSPY’s stage at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
It’s appropriate that Bergeron would be playing another beloved Michigan Festival (she’s performed at Mittenfest, Harvest Gathering and the Ann Arbor Folk Festival), especially since it’s where the singer-songwriter caught the performance bug.
“I would find myself at these musical festivals – found myself standing in the crowd and I loved it so much. I couldn’t not be a part of being on stage,” she says.
Bergeron felt it was “almost painful” not to be creating the music she loved and decided to take a detour from the college degree she earned and start doing something she knew she’d never regret – even if money is tight and success is uncertain. “It’s something I have to do. I don’t feel like it’s a choice I have. It’s not easy. The life of an artist certainly isn’t easy, so you have to have love for it to keep it going,” she says.
Bergeron will certainly keep it going this summer as she sets out to play a slew of shows with Big Beautiful at her side. One of the first opportunities to see her perform is at the Art Fair, and it’ll also be one of the first chances fans have to hear new material.
“I am kinda itching to get out and play the new songs, and the band doesn’t know them yet,” she reveals. “[Summer] is a different time of year, a different vibe. It’s a little more chill. You get to hang out with a lot more musicians because of the festival thing.” And that’s just what Michiganders (and, no doubt, Midwesterners as a whole) will get the opportunity to do from July 18 – 21 when the streets of downtown Ann Arbor flood with paint, plaster and plenty of entertainment.
For more information, check out facebook.com/misty-lyn-the-big-beautiful.
