TRACY GRAMMER is one of contemporary folk music’s most beloved artists. Renowned for her pure, emotive vocals, perfectly intoned violin, and guitar playing that is by turns percussive and delicate, Grammer is also a gifted storyteller whose incantations add a rare mixture of vulnerability, intimacy, and hard-won insight to her performances. As one fan puts it, “With Tracy, it’s never just about the music; it’s a soul journey.”
And what a journey it has been. Grammer rose to acclaim as half of the “postmodern, mythic American folk” duo, Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. From 1998-2001, the duo released three internationally celebrated, chart-topping albums featuring Carter’s mytho-poetic Americana songcraft and in 2002, toured with Joan Baez, both as featured artists and Baez’s band mates. Called “the new voice of modern folk music,” the duo was clearly in its ascendancy when in July 2002, Carter suffered a fatal heart attack mid-tour. He was 49; Grammer, 34.
Determined to honor the duo’s trajectory and bring Carter’s songs and those of other favorite writers to broader audiences, Grammer kept to the road, releasing several solo and archival recordings, including 2012’s LITTLE BLUE EGG (Red House Records), the #1 most-played album on Folk Radio in 2012 with that year’s #1 most-played song. She also heads the Dave Carter Legacy Project and administers the publishing for Carter’s songs, as well as her own.