Gillian Grassie (say: Jillian) is a 24 year-old harpist/singer-songwriter whose signature brand of jazz-minded indie folk/pop showcases her "knack for turning seemingly insignificant events into songs worthy of everyone's attention," (Origivation Magazine).
Frequently weaving humorous banter into sets more evocative of Joni Mitchell and Regina Spektor than Joanna Newsom or Loreena McKennitt, Grassie's natural live performances have won her a growing audience of devoted listeners across the United States and as far abroad as France, Germany, India, China, and Russia. 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."
Grassie holds a degree in Comparative Literature from Bryn Mawr College and her music is often inspired by literary works, with references to Philip Larkin, Robert Frost, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Francis James Child woven throughout. In her youth, she studied opera and sang with choirs in such prestigious venues as Heinz Hall, Symphony Hall, and The National Cathedral. Her interpretations of traditional Scottish harp repertoire earned first place prizes in five competitions and an invitation to perform at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, where she debuted at the tender age of fourteen.
While living abroad in Switzerland at fifteen, Grassie departed from her traditional background in Classical and Celtic music and began writing original songs. Since then, she has independently released two critically acclaimed recordings: in 2005 the EP To an Unwitting Muse, and 2007's Serpentine — a full-length album composed, recorded, and released while she was still a student at Bryn Mawr, hailed by Music for America 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. Her song "Silken String" finished second in the 2008 New York Songwriters Circle Competition and has since been picked up by triple-A radio stations nationally.
Grassie has been profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Times of India, and on NBC 10, but perhaps more telling are the glowing fan reviews on iTunes, Pandora, and CDBaby, whose praise is often as articulate and sensitive as the music it describes. One listener wrote: "Serpentine is really impressive, in the traditional sense of the term; it's left an imprint on me. Her music is completely unique; you take her music on her terms; she isn't derivative at all. Gillian knows what she wants to say and knows exactly how to say it. At an age (and in an age) when younger performers are either finding their style or – mostly – copying others', Gillian Grassie has already clearly established her sound and her voice."
She was most recently awarded a coveted Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which sponsored her for a year's worth of travel with her harp, studying and participating in emerging music scenes in Europe and Asia. During her Watson year abroad, Grassie penned a new album and is expected to go into the studio this winter to begin production on the project, tentatively titled: The Hinter Haus.
PRESS QUOTES:
"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. I'd love to have her open some shows for me. I'm sure my audiences will be captivated by her too." –Grammy-winner, Marc Cohn
"[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." -Origivation Magazine
"Forget for a moment Grassie's dulcet harp work. She writes haunting, well-crafted songs and sings them in that lustrous voice." -David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer
"[Serpentine is] an album that belongs on every critic's best of list not only for the year, but for the decade." -Music for America
"Serpentine is really impressive, in the traditional sense of the term; it's left an imprint on me. Her music is completely unique; you take her music on her terms; she isn't derivative at all. Gillian knows what she wants to say and knows exactly how to say it. At an age (and in an age) when younger performers are either finding their style or – mostly – copying others', Gillian Grassie has already clearly established her sound and her voice." – iTunes Customer Review
"Diese Frau ist wirklich Megaklasse. Die Kombination aus filigran gespielter Harfe zu einer Stimme, die sich mit weltklass Stars vergleichen lässt, und einer Titelauswahl, die einem jeden Zuhörer den Mund vor Staunen offen stehen lässt. Musik zu Versinken in seinen schönsten und/oder auch emotional einfühlsamsten Gedanken. Brillant! Danke." – Das Consortium, Hamburg
"Infectious. Addictive. Enchanting, up-lifting voice with interesting tales to tell: told in a different way. Who knew the harp could be so versatile and fresh and natural for such jazzy, bluesy, story-telling songs? One of those albums that stays in play. Each hearing offers something new even as the songs linger between plays. A refreshingly different, joyously talented artist who is awesome live and delightful on recording." – Frank D. Banta, CDBaby Customer
"For pop fans with a craving for something a little different, Serpentine is a treat." -Philadelphia CityPaper
"…flaunts harp convention with a sassy assuredness." -The Intelligencer
"Superb!" -TAXI
"…she makes [the harp] sound like any string instrument that has been a part of pop and rock for the last 50 years." -Music For America
"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." -The Intelligencer
"…the harp in this context is simply exciting." -TAXI
"…an innovator par excellence. She is a harpist/singer/songwriter who is bringing the harp into the 21st Century." -Ticket Magazine
