Ethel Cain is the stage name and principal music project of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, appearing at Lollapalooza 2026.
Anhedönia was born on March 24, 1998, in Tallahassee, Florida, and was raised in the nearby town of Perry. She began releasing music under several aliases before adopting Ethel Cain in 2019. The name evokes an old-fashioned American woman and connects to the biblical figure Cain.
Her debut studio album, Preacher’s Daughter, was released in 2022. Its songs combine Southern Gothic imagery with indie rock, slowcore, Americana, and ambient textures, creating a fictionalized world centered on Ethel Cain. The album’s themes draw on religion, family, violence, desire, and the darker sides of American culture.
The answer is not another performer’s birth name: Goldie Boutilier, Slayyyter, and Olivia Dean are separate artists. Anhedönia has also used aliases such as Atlas and White Silas, but Ethel Cain is her main professional identity and the name used for her festival performances.