Melissa Ferrick

10-6-2018 (Ballroom)

Melissa Ferrick has released 17 albums over the last 24 years. Signed to Atlantic Records in 1992 at the age of 21, after opening up for Morrissey in the US and UK, she released her debut and sophomore albums on Atlantic. Between 1996-1999 she released three albums via Independent label W.A.R. Records . Melissa launched the nationally distributed independent record label Right On Records in 2000. Her publishing catalog is represented worldwide by Raleigh Music Group.

Regarded in the industry and by her peers as one of the most prolific and hardworking artists in the business, Ferrick still tours regularly playing throughout North America. She has shared the stage with Morrissey, Marc Cohn, Paul Westerberg, John Hiatt, Joan Armatrading, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, G-Love & Special Sauce, Bob Dylan, Dan Bern, Ani DiFranco, k.d. Lang, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and many others. 

Melissa grew up in Ipswich, MA and at 16, was accepted into the New England Conservatory's Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble as a trumpet player, giving her the opportunity to tour with the Conservatory's Extension Division, which traveled to perform in California and China. She was accepted to Berklee College of Music on songwriting and trumpet scholarships and chose to continue her music education there from 1988-1990.  After two years playing Boston's local rock club scene, Melissa left school and moved to New York City. In 1990 she lived on 14th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, playing at the Bitter End weekly and working at Right Track Recording studios and Chrysalis Records to learn the ropes of the business.  In July of 1991, Melissa's phone rang and she was asked to open that night for Morrissey in Boston on his his “Kill Uncle” tour.  She was invited to finish the U.S. dates with Morrissey and to continue on to the U.K. as his opening act.  When she returned to the States, at 20 years old, she was offered deals with three major labels. Her album "Still Right Here" debuted on Billboard’s Heat-Seekers Album Charts, won an 8th annual International Acoustic Music Award (IAMA), and garnered two Independent Music Award (IMA) nominations. The title track’s music video premiered on the launch of Huffington Post’s Gay site and won two Right-OutTV awards. Ferrick was also a featured music honoree in OUT Magazine’s OUT100 – focusing on artists who make an impact on the community.  2013's "the truth is" was the first self-produced album since 2004 and an evolution in the sound she had developed over the course of her career. The record was also a creative departure in its collaborative approach to the recording process, hiring grammy award winning engineer Trina Shoemaker to mix the album remotely from Alabama and Independent Mastering to master the album from Nashville. The result was a sweeping Americana/Alt-Country record that won the2014 Independent Music Award for Alt-Country Album of the Year Fan Vote. Ferrick has also won eight Boston Music Awards.

"Ferrick released one of the year’s most singular albums...Ferrick’s self-titled latest is worth finding if you missed it. “Melissa Ferrick” is an unfussy record built around her prowess on guitar, with her voice expressive and closely miked." -James Reed: Boston Globe

Open: Mandy Kessler