By Noma Faingold

At the age of 69, songwriter, musician and home-recording pioneer Linda Smith is making her live San Francisco debut Sept. 20 at the Richmond District’s 4 Star Theater, a 123-seat venue mostly known for its eclectic film programming. The booking is part of a four-city, West Coast tour Smith never expected to experience. 

San Francisco-based indie musician, Britta Leijonflycht, who will play bass and keyboards for Smith’s four dates, was a catalyst in bringing Smith’s thoughtful, bare bones music to a new audience. 

“I was never really much of a performer, but there seems to be an interest in my music,” said Smith, a native of Baltimore, who still lives there. “Younger people are listening to me.”

Renewed interest in Smith’s melancholy, yet melodic pop music, mostly recorded on four-track and eight-track tape machines, may be the result of album reissues, including the 2021 release of a compilation of songs called, “Till Another Time: 1988-1996,” and two additional albums in 2024 (available on vinyl and streaming) from her vast catalogue, “Nothing Else Matters” and “I So Liked Spring.”

Smith did not perform live much in the past. In the 1980s, she was in a band for a little more than three years called The Woods. She even moved to New York City during that time. But she did not like living there. She developed asthma and felt isolated. 

“Day-to-day life in New York was stressful and alienating. I don’t have the personality for that grind,” she said. “I appreciate the boringness of Baltimore.”

She preferred recording her own music at home. 

“I was doing it for me. I would make cassettes and sell them through the mail,” Smith said. “People would find out about me through reviews in publications. It was all very old style.”

Smith never made a living from her music. She always held full-time jobs, including working in the advertising department at Ringling Bros. in Northern Virginia.  She also had a job at Whole Foods in the bakery. She went back to school in the early 2000s to study art. During those years, she was painting, not creating music. 

“I’m a one-thing-at-a-time person,” she said.

When she retired from nine-to-five jobs, there was room in her life to pick up music again. Smith did not necessarily embrace all the technological advances in home recording, but she does use Audacity software and bought the necessary equipment to make her new ideas come to life. Her musical influences of girl groups and singers of the 1960s, like The Supremes, The Shangri-Las and Dionne Warwick, as well as post-punk bands, such as The Raincoats and Young Marble Giants, have remained. 

Smith’s musical genre has been referred to as jangle pop and indie pop. Often her music has been compared to that of the Velvet Underground. 

“I don’t really see it,” she said. “Except when it comes to (lead singer and solo artist) Nico. She was an influence. Her uniqueness is what I aimed for. There was no one like her.” 

The 1995 song, “Nothing Else Matters,” for example, sounds like a haunting lullaby and the bouncy “The Answer to Your Question” contains lyrics that ironically do not offer answers, most notably in the chorus, “The answer to your question is lost in digression. The answer to your question remains in suspension.”

Adam Bergeron, who owns CinemaSF, the company that programs and operates the Balboa, Vogue and 4-Star theaters, had not heard of Smith until Leijonflycht, who worked for him years ago in Santa Cruz at a crepe café, suggested he book her. He often takes suggestions from the 4 Star staff,  employees of Tunnel Records (a retail shop located in the theater’s lobby) and audience members in choosing musical acts at the 4   Star. He tries to schedule one live show per week.

Once he was exposed to Smith’s music, he found it captivating. 

“It’s so gentle, groovy and poetic. It’s daydreamy,” Bergeron said. “It also has that outsider feel. It definitely seems like one person’s specific work. Genius can exist in these little pockets. I can’t wait to see her.”

Smith is excited to play with a band, which includes Leijonflycht and drummer Paul Krolian, who are both members of the group Smashing Times. Smith will sing and play rhythm guitar. 

“The audience won’t see dancing or back-up singers,” she said. “It’s not like Taylor Swift. I’m pretty much seated. It will be very simple.”

After more than 35 years, in some ways the industry has caught up with Smith’s approach to making music with what is known as “bedroom recording.” Top-selling and award-winning artist Billie Eilish created her hits at home, as have many other successful musicians. 

“With the technological advances, someone like Billie Eilish has more available to her to get the sound she wants,” Smith said. “Artists can just stay home, record and take their time.”

Smith played a few dates in the United Kingdom last year and a few gigs in her area this past spring. She is aware the Bay Area currently has a thriving indie music scene and hopes to draw an audience. 

“I never saw myself as being a well-known musician,” she said. “I had a simple desire to put songs together and get them released in some way. It was all very low key. What’s happening now is like icing on the cake.”

Linda Smith will make her San Francisco debut Sept. 20 at the 4 Star Theater, 2200 Clement St. Richmond District duo April Magazine opens. DJ Jess B will be spinning between sets. Get information and tickets ($20) at cinemasf.com. For more information, call 415-418-6712.