MySpace a place for friends

Classically trained in both voice and harp, Gillian departed from her traditional music background and began writing original songs while living abroad in Switzerland during her sophomore year of high school. Upon returning to the States, she graduated high school a year early and turned down conservatory acceptances to dive head first into the Philadelphia singer-songwriter circuit. Gillian was booked on the spot after playing a song at The Point’s open mic – her first public performance of original material – and quickly became a local favorite.

Since then, she has independently released two critically acclaimed recordings, her 2005 EP To an Unwitting Muse and 2007’s Serpentine, which Music for America hailed as “an album that belongs on every critic’s top-ten list not only for the year, but for the decade.” Both sold out of their original pressings. Of her live performance, Grammy-winner Marc Cohn has said: “After hearing only one song, I became an instant Gillian Grassie fan. It’s rare to hear a young singer with such control and understated soulfulness, and even more rare to hear a harp provide such a deep percussive groove. I was immediately captivated by her sound.”

She has toured at premier listening rooms along the East Coast and throughout the Southern U.S., including The Tin Angel, World Café Live, Eddie’s Attic, Appel Farm, The Carrollton Station, The Living Room, and The Bitter End, and has been selected to perform at several music festivals, including WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival, Musikfest, and the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, where she debuted at the tender age of fourteen. Gillian has worked with many artists, including John Legend and Jim Boggia, and her song “Silken String” finished second in the 2008 New York Songwriters Circle Competition. She was most recently awarded a Watson Fellowship, which will take her and her harp through Germany, France, India, Indonesia, China and Japan for a year-long study of the relationships between new technologies and independent music scenes around the globe.

Gillian Grassie is a Philadelphia native. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2009 with a degree in Comparative Literature.

PRAISE:

Philadelphia Citypaper says:

"For pop fans with a craving for something a little different, Serpentine is a treat."

"Her wordy, imaginative tunes are all about growing up, whether confronting destructive behavior (the trip-hop-tinged "Tell Me") or accepting a lover's silence ("No Answer")."

"Subtly evoking the government's shameful responses to Iraq and Katrina, the folky "Sweet Metallic" casts America as a teenager who makes you proud and exasperates you at the same time."

Read the article here

Origivation Magazine reviews Serpentine:

"[Grassie] seems to have one thing most of her contemporaries lack, the ability to turn seemingly insignificant events, such as throwing up at a party, into songs worthy of everyone’s attention. Her lethal combination of melody, introspection and deeply personal lyrics places her high in the running for first in the “next big thing” category.

The record starts pretty much where it ends, with Grassie letting us into her world through lighter-than-air yet epic changes and hooks that would snag the biggest snob, I’m proof positive of that I suppose. She seems to bill herself as a harpist on the record’s cover, which is certainly accurate, but I think the real story here is the ability to tell a story that people actually want to hear through music that is sure to haunt you like a reassuring and melodious ghost. The pieces all fit together and I can honestly say I don’t have one really bad thing to say about this record. Everything, right down to the song lengths, is perfect.”

Music for America reviews Serpentine:

“Grassie’s brand of eclectic pop is her own, and she would sound as comfortable in a large 5000-seat venue as she might in a small cafe.”

“...while her music and passionate lyrics can be accessible to a wide audience, it's her approach […] and the way her lyrics come off more like poetry than the standard pop song that makes her stand-out from the rest.”

“...she makes [the harp] sound like any string instrument that has been a part of pop and rock for the last 50 years.”

“Upon hearing such songs as "Sweet Metallic", "So Funny", and "The Train", one can hear shades of Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, and Joni Mitchell.”

“Grassie isn't just a casual artist hoping for casual fans, [her music is] something meant to be heard and absorbed.”

“…she can sing songs about the skepticism of love and the destruction of ones personal space [...] and still make it sound (bitter)sweet.”

“The sonics on this album sound great, with everything from horn and string sections to a stand-up bass and a Mellotron creating an audio picture that makes it sound as warm as the cover art suggests.”

“[Serpentine is] an album that belongs on every critic's best of list not only for the year, but for the decade.”

Read the entire review here

TAXI says:

"...the harp in this context is simply exciting."

"...lyrical imagery is sophisticated yet relatable, music combines a lot of stylistic elements, and does so in a way that sounds edgy and contemporary."

"...incredibly distinctive vocal approach."

"Superb!"

The Intelligencer:

"...flaunts harp convention with a sassy assuredness."

"Her music deftly blends jazz, pop, folk and rock with mesmerizing effectiveness, with forays into techno and even bossa nova further blurring the boundaries of tradition."

Ticket Magazine calls Gillian:

"...the type of musician you can only dare to dream exists."

"...an innovator par excellence. She is a harpist/singer/songwriter who is bringing the harp into the 21st Century."