Melissa Ferrick with Gracie and Rachel + After Show Disco Dance Party with DJ GAD (aka Gail Ann Dorsey)

Thirty years into a prolific career as a genre and gender-defying songwriter, MELISSA FERRICK continues to disrupt normative categorization. Quite simply, Melissa Ferrick won’t be labeled. With disarming wit and raw vulnerability, every lyric in Ferrick’s immense catalog is an invitation to confession or catharsis. 

In 2023, Ferrick signed with Kill Rock Stars, a label that has long been emblematic of authentic storytelling and home to indie acts including Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, The Decemberists and Elliott Smith. “Being on this label is an alignment of who I am musically. KRS serves all of the different approaches to music that exist in me.” To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Ferrick has re-recorded her critically acclaimed album Everything I Need, set to be released October 11th, 2024. “Just me and the guitar using live takes and no overdubs,” Ferrick captures the emotional intensity that has become a signature of her live performances. 

Ferrick’s impact reaches far beyond her music. As one of the few openly queer artists in the 1990s, she navigated and challenged the sexism, homophobia, and rigid gender expectations of the music industry. Her trailblazing journey not only paved the way for future generations of artists but also created a space where they could express their identities and be celebrated on their own terms. Most recently, Melissa launched Drive Music Agency (DMA), a booking agency and consulting company designed to help launch new acts in the indie scene. She is also a Professor of Practice at Northeastern University, teaching courses in music business, songwriting, creative entrepreneurship, demo recording and production, and the psychology of creativity. Melissa was an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music from 2013 to 2019 and holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University. 

Ferrick has shared the stage with countless acts, some of which include Bob Dylan, Joan Armatrading, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, Mark Cohen, Paul Westerberg, John Hiatt, Ani DiFranco, k.d. Lang, Suzanne Vega, and Shawn Colvin. 

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The Brooklyn-based piano-violin duo GRACIE AND RACHEL has emerged as a formidable force in challenging the boundaries of pop music. Blending baroque elements, ethereal sonic-scapes, and penetrating vulnerability, the duo creates an emotionally haunting sound all their own. Their sophomore album, Hello Weakness, You Make Me Strong, released on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, explores the depths of their emotional states and the walls we build up inside ourselves. It’s music to excavate our inner fears and help us find empowerment from within.

Seen on stages opening for Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Julien Baker, San Fermin and more, the collaborative duo of keyboardist, Gracie Coates, and violinist, Rachel Ruggles, have performed two NPR Tiny Desk Concerts and been praised by the outlet’s Bob Boilen to “mix pop and classical in stark, infectious ways and make unforgettable, surprising music.” Gracie and Rachel’s catalog is marked by hauntingly spare arrangements, bold, baroque flourishes, evanescent vocal stylings, and penetrative lyrical tact. The duo’s latest EP, Nowhere Now Here, out on Righteous Babe Records, honors these sonic elements and elevates them, a melodious new vigor coursing through the track list, ranging from pointedly delicate to tenderly anthemic.

$25 ADV/$30 DOORS
7PM DOORS
7:30PM GRACIE AND RACHEL
8:15PM MELISSA FERRICK
9:30PM-12AM AFTER SHOW DANCE PARTY - Disco 101 with DJ GAD (aka Gail Ann Dorsey)