Folk-blues singer Mirel Wagner, also an acoustic guitarist, will give a free concert on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Bates College, Lewiston.

LEWISTON — Mirel Wagner, a folk-blues singer known for her stark lyrics and bare-bones delivery, will perform Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Bates College.

Wagner will launch the college’s Olin “Arts Alive” music series, featuring renowned and emerging musicians on the international stage.

The free concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Keigwin Amphitheater at Lake Andrews, adjacent to the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St. Rain site: the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall.

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Finland, Wagner “takes a minimalist approach to her music to create consistently captivating, haunting tracks,” wrote a reviewer for CMJ.com. “The simplicity in the sound allows [her] writing ability to stand out, as she weaves dark, heart-wrenching stories into each song. … Wagner questions relationships, family, religion and the value of living.”

Wagner began writing songs in her teens. An American music journalist living in Finland heard her at an open mic and helped open doors that led to the recording of her first album over the course of two days. This self-titled debut was released in Finland in spring 2011, and a year later in the United States.

If Wagner’s themes are bleak, her undramatic delivery renders them convincing. “I think it’s a bit lazy to say that I make sad music,” Wagner told the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine. “Of course, you might say the lyrics are bizarre or dark. But for me, the songs are first and foremost filled with desire. And there’s this hope in them that love overcomes everything.”

“What I find sad is the soulless music that is on the radio most of the time, music that is simply product,” Wagner said. “If there is no life in it … is this not much sadder than a melancholic song?”

For more information on the concert, call 786-6135 or visit olinarts@bates.edu.

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