# Lissie
**Lissie** is the stage name of Elisabeth Corrin Maurus (born 1982), an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from [Rock Island, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-island-illinois), whose blend of folk, rock, and country found its largest audience in the United Kingdom and Europe rather than her home country.[1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lissie-mn0000810515) Her debut album *Catching a Tiger* (2010) was certified Gold in the UK, and her 2018 album *Castles* became her highest charting record when it debuted at number 9 there.[3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Elisabeth Corrin Maurus, born 1982 in Rock Island, Illinois[1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist) |
| Breakthrough | *Catching a Tiger* (2010), UK Top 20, certified Gold in the UK, and number 4 in Norway[3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) • [1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist) |
| Studio albums | *Catching a Tiger* (2010), *Back to Forever* (2013), *My Wild West* (2016), *Castles* (2018), *Carving Canyons* (2022)[4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ae7dc88a-f3c7-4008-9eb8-2aafda1be759) |
| Best US chart result | *My Wild West* peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart[5](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/l/157860-lissie) |
| Known songs | "When I'm Alone," "In Sleep," "Oh Mississippi," "Everywhere I Go"[6](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/lissie-4bd403f2.html) |
| Acting | Played Lizzie Poole in season 3 of *Loudermilk*, performing "When I'm Alone"; appeared in *Twin Peaks*[3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) |
| Latest release | *Promises*, a six-song covers EP released August 22, 2025[7](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lissie/219498294) • [3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) |
## Early life and beginnings
Lissie grew up in Rock Island, Illinois, a river town on the [Mississippi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mississippi), and has described the freedom of the small town as shaping a determined and independent spirit; by her own account she was writing songs at age seven, sitting on a playground slide with a tape recorder.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lissie-mn0000810515) • [8](https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/august-2011/folk-rocks-troublemaker-lissie-returns-home-to-play-lollapalooza/) Her grandfather was a former barbershop quartet champion, and she sang in her Lutheran congregation and in musicals from around age nine, at one point playing the title role in a production of *Annie*.[9](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Lissie/02/1689) • [10](https://epub.sub.uni-hamburg.de/epub/volltexte/2018/75200/pdf/complete_2015_6_Weihnachten.pdf)
She attended [Colorado State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/colorado-state-university), continuing to write songs, and one of her recordings reached television soundtracks including *The O.C.*, *Veronica Mars*, and *House*. After a semester abroad in Paris she left her studies to pursue music full time.[9](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Lissie/02/1689) Her first release was a self-financed, self-titled EP in 2007.[1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist)
An early break came in 2008, when [Lenny Kravitz](https://www.edgepedia.org/lenny-kravitz) chose her to open for him on the US leg of his [Love Revolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/love-revolution) tour.[11](https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/lissie-tickets/artist/1375417) The 2009 EP *Why You Runnin'*, produced by Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses, sold well and brought her a contract with [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music); songwriter Ed Harcourt wrote "Oh Mississippi" for her.[1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist) • [12](https://www.nporadio2.nl/muziek/artiesten/75130070-0569-4ca0-b547-1da88c6df7fd/lissie)
## Recording career
**Debut and early albums.** *Catching a Tiger*, released in June 2010, was recorded in Nashville with producer Jacquire King and combined folk with pop.[13](https://assets.website-files.com/65f027f9d27826baaa7b0732/66f7beee6584c009cc284927_bajomusokiliw.pdf) • [9](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Lissie/02/1689) It reached the UK Top 20 and number 4 in Norway, where "When I'm Alone" became a major hit.[1](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist) The follow-up *Back to Forever* (2013), made with producer Jacknife Lee, leaned toward the rock sound of her live band.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lissie-mn0000810515) • [14](https://www.villagevoice.com/lissie-to-be-a-woman-and-angry-in-one-song-now-youre-a-bitter-bitch/)
**Mid-career records.** *My Wild West* (2016) marked a turn toward stripping her music back to its emotional roots; it peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and reached the Top 10 on the Independent Album chart.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lissie-mn0000810515) • [5](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/l/157860-lissie) *Castles* (2018) became her highest charting album, debuting at number 9 in the UK.[3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) In 2019 she released *When I'm Alone: The Piano Retrospective*, solo piano versions of songs from her first decade, and in 2021 the compilation *Watch Over Me (Early Works 2002–2009)* collected previously unreleased material.[5](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/l/157860-lissie) • [4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ae7dc88a-f3c7-4008-9eb8-2aafda1be759)
**Carving Canyons and Promises.** Her fifth album, *Carving Canyons* (2022), was produced by Curt Schneider and recorded in Nashville, an Americana-tinged indie folk record about finding inner strength amid personal and social adversity. She co-wrote much of it with female songwriters including Bre Kennedy, Madi Diaz, Natalie Hemby, and Sarah Buxton, and songs such as "Lonesome Wine" examine her own relationship with alcohol.[3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) • [15](https://redlightmanagement.com/artists/lissie/) In August 2025 she released the EP *Promises*, a six-song collection of covers of famous songs chosen for personal significance, including [The Bangles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-bangles)' "Eternal Flame."[7](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lissie/219498294) • [3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) • [16](https://lissie.com/)
## Life on the farm and songwriting
In 2015 Lissie bought a 50-acre farm in Iowa and moved from Los Angeles a year later, learning to grow vegetables and keep bees. She has said the farming life gave her a new perspective on the music industry and gratitude for her career.[17](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/lissie-let-it-grow) She is now Iowa-based.[18](https://www.houseofsolo.com/lissie-talk-to-us-about-music-and-loudermilk/)
In interviews she has described an unintentional, burst-driven writing process: melodies recorded on her phone, lyrics scribbled as they arrive, or thirty minutes of stream-of-consciousness singing over a collaborator's musical part. "Bully" was written in three minutes and left unrevised.[19](https://www.songwritersonprocess.com/blog/2010/11/02/lissie)
## Live performance and screen work
Setlist statistics show "When I'm Alone" as her most performed song, followed by "Everywhere I Go," "In Sleep," "Oh Mississippi," and "Don't You Give Up on Me."[6](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/lissie-4bd403f2.html) Her touring has been extensive in the UK and Europe as well as the United States, and in early 2026 she ran a third annual winter residency at the Parkway Theater in [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis).[11](https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/lissie-tickets/artist/1375417) • [6](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/lissie-4bd403f2.html) On screen she appeared in [David Lynch](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-lynch)'s *[Twin Peaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/twin-peaks-season-3)* and played Lizzie Poole in the third season of *Loudermilk*, performing "When I'm Alone."[18](https://www.houseofsolo.com/lissie-talk-to-us-about-music-and-loudermilk/) • [3](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie) Her guest vocal on "The Longest Road" with Deadmau5 reached the top 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording.[13](https://assets.website-files.com/65f027f9d27826baaa7b0732/66f7beee6584c009cc284927_bajomusokiliw.pdf)
## References
1. [Lissie (artist), Store norske leksikon](https://snl.no/Lissie_-_artist)
2. [Lissie Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lissie-mn0000810515)
3. [Lissie, Mint Talent Group](https://www.minttalentgroup.com/lissie)
4. [Lissie, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ae7dc88a-f3c7-4008-9eb8-2aafda1be759)
5. [Lissie Concert Tour Dates & Shows, Hypebot](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/l/157860-lissie)
6. [Lissie Concert Setlists, setlist.fm](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/lissie-4bd403f2.html)
7. [Lissie, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lissie/219498294)
8. [Folk-Rock's Troublemaker Lissie Returns Home to Play Lollapalooza, Chicago Magazine](https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/august-2011/folk-rocks-troublemaker-lissie-returns-home-to-play-lollapalooza/)
9. [Lissie, Munzinger Biographie](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Lissie/02/1689)
10. [Überstand mit Hilfe von Musik die schwersten Zeiten, Hamburg University Press](https://epub.sub.uni-hamburg.de/epub/volltexte/2018/75200/pdf/complete_2015_6_Weihnachten.pdf)
11. [Lissie Tickets, Ticketmaster UK](https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/lissie-tickets/artist/1375417)
12. [Lissie Biografie, NPO Radio 2](https://www.nporadio2.nl/muziek/artiesten/75130070-0569-4ca0-b547-1da88c6df7fd/lissie)
13. [Lizzie Poole on Loudermilk (biographical summary)](https://assets.website-files.com/65f027f9d27826baaa7b0732/66f7beee6584c009cc284927_bajomusokiliw.pdf)
14. [Lissie: To Be a Woman, and Angry in One Song, The Village Voice](https://www.villagevoice.com/lissie-to-be-a-woman-and-angry-in-one-song-now-youre-a-bitter-bitch/)
15. [Lissie, Red Light Management](https://redlightmanagement.com/artists/lissie/)
16. [Lissie Official Site](https://lissie.com/)
17. [Lissie: Let It Grow, The Line of Best Fit](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/lissie-let-it-grow)
18. [Lissie talk to us about music and Loudermilk, House of Solo](https://www.houseofsolo.com/lissie-talk-to-us-about-music-and-loudermilk/)
19. [Lissie, Songwriters on Process](https://www.songwritersonprocess.com/blog/2010/11/02/lissie)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Indie and alternative pop, 2010s to present › Indie folk and Americana singer-songwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license