Vermont native Alice Hasen has been a fixture on the Memphis music scene since 2016, and even longer in the region, having originally moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi from the Northeast. That was where the classically-trained violinist helped found Blackwater Trio, who mix folk and classic-rock-influenced originals. Here in the big city, she founded Alice Hasen and the Blaze to better focus on her own originals (as we covered in this Memphis Flyer feature). But her latest project, just in time for the patriotic fervor of the Fourth of July, is a tribute to another songwriter: Lin-Manuel Miranda.
That name is well known to any fan of the musical Hamilton, and indeed, Hasen is among the many millions who have been carried away by that production’s musical and historical milieu. On July 1st, she released a set of songs on her YouTube channel that she calls The Hamilton Sessions.
She describes it as “a nerdy passion project” and explains its origins in the regular live-stream performances she began under quarantine.
“Last year, I arranged and performed the majority of Act 1 of Hamilton on my Fiddler’s Friday live stream, on solo violin and loop pedal. Since these streams were some of my most popular, I decided to enlist the help of Helena-based filmmaker Nolan Dean (who made the video for “Ghosts in the Water”), to film my adaptations of five songs from the musical.
“Unedited, live takes filmed on an empty warehouse floor in April 2021, the videos capture the authentic, earnest spirit of the musical. Each song is performed on violin and loop pedal, with occasional help from an octave pedal.”
The result is a perfect complement to your Fourth of July weekend, should you care to tune out the fusillades of explosives outside and dwell for a moment on the reason for the season. Below, we present Hasen’s version of “History Has Its Eyes On You.” Visit her YouTube channel to hear her other covers from Hamilton: “My Shot,” “Dear Theodosia,” “Stay Alive,” and “Yorktown.”
