Nashville’s Tristen Gaspadarek brings her melodic folk and do-it-yourself work ethic to the Comet this Saturday. This marks just the third time the singer-songwriter, who tends to go by just her first name, has played the Tristate, but this time, she has an album on the horizon. Charlatans At The Garden Gate should be out by early summer, and though Tristen admits it took her a while to finish, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I build [tracks] very slowly,” she says. “I’ll be almost done recording and decide I want to change the drums.”

In the meantime, she’s touring the Midwest and she’s bringing just a guitarist and bassist along to the Comet to play her deceptively simple songs. “Eager For Your Love,” which might sound sweet, but one listen to chorus and you’ll hear something darker going on.

As for returning to Cincinnati? “I’m pretty excited to be back,” she says. “I have not had any time to hang out there, but I played a great show last time I was in town and it was really fun.” She added that Cincy’s “a good midway point” between markets like Chicago and New York, which could be why Cincinnati’s the first stop on her new tour.

Tristen’s been playing and recording since she was 14, so you could say she’s an old vet at this point, but you shouldn’t. Her style’s been evolving since then, but she has learned a few harsh truths. “The only way for artists to make money is to hope that they can get mail money,” she says, meaning licensing in television shows and commercials. She’s also learned that the fear of “selling out” is an obsolete one. “If the song’s good, the song’s good, the song’s good.”

Speaking of good songs, at tomorrow’s show you can pick up her five-track EP– the sleeves for which she makes by hand. What did I say about that DIY ethic?

Plus, Lighting Love, the Michigan band that’s logged so much time playing down here they’re practically natives at this point, are also playing the show. And talk about deceptively simple: Be sure to check out their set for sparkling pop tunes that pack a collective punch.

Fresh off their stints at SXSW, Bad Veins and You, You’re Awesome will be DJing before and after the show. The show’s free, and everything’s set to start around 9:30.

-MaryKate Moran