Pictured: Ingrid Michaelson.

There are some artists and bands who, as good as they are on record, will always be better live. It might be because they put their whole body into their performance; or that their music becomes sadder, more joyous, grander, magnified in every way when heard live; or their songs are best experienced when you’re bouncing among a shifting mass of strangers. It could also be that the artist is such a down-to-earth, natural, genuine human being that just being in the same room with them is well worth the ticket; their performance is a bonus.

Ingrid Michaelson brings her sweet voice and wonderful stories to the Corner Hotel, Michael Christian was there to take photos.

Following on from a sold out Australian tour in 2010, vocal sensation Ingrid Michaelson will be coming back for another run of gigs in September! Michaelson, an artist often compared with the likes of Feist and Regina Spektor, brings an uniquely endearing stage presence with each show - a lovely mix of heartfelt lyrics coupled with her gorgeous vocals truly makes for a thoroughly enjoyful live music experience.

We recently caught up with Ingrid Michaelson, in anticipation of her upcoming tour to Australia and in celebration of her recently released album Human Again. Well, by that I mean we sent her an e-mail with some questions, and here is what she replied with. I believe her caps lock key was broken.

Just before we all headed off to Austin for the 2012 SXSW Festival, we told you our 12 picks for the festival. Well some of them we saw (and were impressed by), others we missed, and of course at the other end of the spectrum there were plenty of surprises. Here now are our 12 festival highlights, 3 from each AU member who was there:

On the back of her recent (and first) Australian tour, US songbird Ingrid Michaelson has finally found a local audience to justify self-releasing (as she has done throughout her entire career) her single "The Way I Am".

The Factory Theatre was buzzing on Thursday night, full of young females eager to see the latest "it" girl - New York's Ingrid Michaelson.