Hadestown

Anaïs Mitchell's 'Hadestown' is proof that music still has the power to surprise and delight. For starters, the guest list includes some pretty well-known names, including a certain female folksinger and a guy best known as Bon Iver. And it's an honest-to-god album, the kind whose songs tell a story from beginning to end- specifically, the ancient Greek myth of the poet Orpheus and his doomed quest to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld.

'Hadestown' features a veritable who's who of modern indie folk/rock: Justin Vernon of Bon Iver plays Orpheus; Greg Brown is Hades, Lord Of The Underworld; and Ani Difranco plays Hades' strong-willed, subversive wife, Persephone. Also on hand is Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem as the messenger Hermes. Mitchell herself sings the part of Eurydice, the character whose (Metaphoric) death propels Orpheus into Hadestown.