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Last night, Sufjan Stevens played with the Washington Opera orchestra at the Kennedy Center as a part of their Millenium Stage celebration. The show was free but ticketed. Tickets were distributed about two weeks earlier on a first come, first serve basis. My roommates and I drove down there about 5am but the line had formed about 8am the previous morning and was snaked around at such an unbelievable length that we knew there was little hope of snagging one of the coveted free tickets. Alas, we ended up in the Grand Foyer in front of a screen, but it was still worth it.
At the opening of the concert, the president of the Kennedy Center noted that based on the length of the line for this particular concert, Sufjan was one of there most popular acts EVER. This blows me away because, after all, this is the Kennedy Center. So that got me to thinking, why is Sufjan so popular? And not just among the pop tart teen or early 20's college crowd. I know a 60 year old man who was just as excited about going with his daughter as she was. And judging from the audience, I would venture to say that the average fan is about 25-30 years old. My people!
We came up with a few theories:
1. He appears wildly popular to Kennedy Center officials because of all of the people willing to camp out in sub-arctic temps for tickets. What parent of these kids would ever do that? They have the $$ to simply purchase an overpriced ticket. And that's the average patron of the Kennedy Center.
2. His songs. This seems obvious, but I have a feeling that many of his lyrics resonate with the average 20-something than a lot of other singers. Honest lines like "I've made a lot of mistakes" and "on my best behavior, I am really just like him" in reference to a serial killer are not lost on 20-somethings who have lived a little. We hear a lot of our own thoughts in his songs.
3. The music. Again, obvious, but there has been a trend of this low-fi and pop-orchestral tunes in the Indie crowd these days.
4. He's like your neighbor. He's a very shy, normal looking kid who grew up on the same street as you, a little awkward around people in general, who turns out to be fabulously talented and is making it big-time. We all hope we know one of these people. And we root for them, again, because they are a little bit like us or how we wish to be.
5. He's hot. This accounts for the younger, less-lived fans. But really, he's perfectlly common looking, he just plays really good music and put anyone with real talent on stage and suddenly, they become HOT. I'll have to try it someday...
6. His quirky name. Everyone needs a quirky name these days it seems.
6. Fill in the blank here. I've run out of reasons that Sufjan is so popular. Let me know what you think.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. :) He's undeniably talented, but I'm not terribly crazy about him.
6. His voice.
I agree that there is something widely appealing about his music. Illinois is the first contemporary CD I've ever bought my mom (she's from Chicago so I thought she'd relate) that she actually likes and listens to.
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I agree. He also looks exactly like me ex (i am not kidding, i have never seen two people who are unrelated look that much alike!), so I watch it absolutley fascinated. I like the song too though... :)