The Places

Singer/songwriter Amy Annelle is the creative force behind the Places, an experimental folk outfit with a penchant for mixing traditional folk songs with ambient, avant-garde arrangements. The youngest of seven children, Annelle was raised in Chicago and eventually relocated to Portland, where she formed the Places after issuing a lo-fi solo album, Which One's You, on the Hush Records label. The Autopilot Knows You Best introduced the Places' experimental sound in 2000, and Annelle opted to issue a second solo album, A School of Secret Dangers, the following year. Deciding to leave Portland, she then spent much of the remaining decade traveling the country in support of the Places, even launching her own record label (High Plains Sigh) to support the band's future releases. The adventuresome Call It Sleep appeared in 2004, and Songs for Creeps was issued two years later.