About
"In the quiet night when the eyes don’t see, I walked through a time that was still." — from "Quiet Dark"
Bright Dark Dawn is a music project of songwriter/composer Anne Carol Mitchell, a queer woman living in Sebastopol, California. Her music is reminiscent of guitar-playing greats Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell — with lush resonances and a deep, rhythmic feel. The songs are lyrical and poetic, telling stories at the intersection of the human and more-than-human world, at a time when connecting with the earth and one another is more important than ever.
She has toured throughout the western states and shared the stage and studio with notable artists including queer icon poet Judy Grahn, musicians Ani DiFranco, Jimmy Horn, Jesse Olsen Bay, and Irina Rivkin. Bright Dark Dawn’s album I’ll Show You the Night was released in 2024.
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The story of "I'll Show You the Night"
“I am walking through the woods at dusk, as the light of day edges closer to descent.”
What began as a walk in the woods at dusk in the hills in Berkeley, California, became a musical exploration of darkness. The reverence I experienced in the woods as twilight turned to night guided the creation of the full-length album I’ll Show You the Night which was released January 2024.
“As I walk this familiar trail, a blush of shadow. Twilight fades in.”
The music was written using open guitar tunings, searching out dusky timbres and low-light musical explorations in the vein of Buffy Sainte-Marie and Joni Mitchell “chords of inquiry.”
“I am walking with eyes nearly closed, footfalls finding trust. I realize the weariness of sight. The screens and the harsh artificial light worry my brow, burdening my eyes to compass my days.”
After reading The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light (2013) by Paul Bogard, stories took shape. I felt inspired by the call within the pages of this book for the protection of darkness as a cherished resource– for the health of our circadian rhythms, for the long journeys of birds, and for our sense of belonging to the turnings of night and day.
“As other senses become keen, I am walking through a plurality of wonder – scent of gray willow, presence of tree body, touch of soft leaf. As the breath of night air settles, I am utterly consoled by the scent of cool damp earth, my nose dowsing the direction of water. The appearance of darkness is complete, and I am alive in it.”
