Listen: Inside Mitski’s surprise concert at the Belcourt Theatre

Passionate Mitski fans flew in from all across the country to sit in a movie theater and listen to Mitski’s new album “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” a full week before its release on Sept. 15. The event read, “Listening Event and Film selected by Mitski – NOT A LIVE PERFORMANCE.”

In the dark of Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre, music fanatics gathered to listen to the brand new album. What those fans didn’t know was that out of the eight listening party events the reclusive artist set up around the world, Mitski would make a special live appearance and perform in only one city — Nashville, Tenn.

WNXP’s Justin Barney was there to capture the shock and the rarified air of the Belcourt Theater on such a special night.

Mitski showed up at the Nashville listening party pic.twitter.com/qgJ9u9KDwC

— Justin Barney (@JBarney) September 8, 2023

“The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We” is out Friday via Dead Oceans. Hear more from Mitski fans — and the artist in her own words — ahead of the album’s release in the audio player above.