Singer-songwriter Christine Bilé brings European tour momentum home

SUPPER SESSIONS

BY MATT MARTINEZ

The Berkshire Eagle

PITTSFIELD — With roller bags and a guitar in tow, Pittsfield singer-songwriter Christine Bilé trundles through a German train station, embarking on a surreal adventure.

It’s a far cry from the stage at the Pittsfield Common where she got her start, playing Third Thursdays as a Herberg Middle School student, but she got there on the same merits — after years of Pittsfield Youth Commission Talent Shows, Berkshire Idol appearances and more recently roots and folk festivals, Bilé applied to the international live music organization Sofar Sounds to take her talents overseas, putting her in league with artists like Olivia Dean and Billie Eilish from earlier points in their careers.

In June, that wish was finally granted — in large part thanks to a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $2,800 in individual donations and a $2,000 contribution from the Berkshire Black Economic Council — and Bilé was bound for gigs in Berlin, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland.

With her Berlin performance at Das Baumhaus behind her, Bilé wheels her bags through the train station en route to the Fabienne Levy Gallery in Zurich. She documents as much of the journey on camera as she can, taking viewers step by step through the streets of the German capital from hair-braiding salons to the Berlin Cathedral and Altes Museum.

She does almost all of it with a characteristic independence— she has no record label and no touring crew, so a trip like this means hauling a looping pedal, gear and everything else she needs for an international voyage all by herself.

But of course, she met some helpers along the way — her bunkmates Florina and Alina on the night train couchette from Berlin to Zurich assisted her with fitting the belongings into a compact train compartment. Florina would go on to feature heavily in Bilé’s video diary of the trip, as she took her sightseeing around Zurich and clued her into local delicacies, such as Swiss veal and potato dishes and fondue.

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