Grace Griffith
| Grace Griffith | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Blix Street Records |
| Associated acts | The Hags, Hazlewood, Connemara, Eva Cassidy |
| Website | Grace Griffith discography at MusicBrainz |
Grace Griffith is a folk and celtic singer based in Washington, DC. She has been honored with multiple Wammie awards by the Washington Area Music Association. In 1998, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Grace Griffith was raised in a family of ten children on a small farm in Southern Maryland. At a young age she began singing and accompanying herself on guitar playing in small coffeehouse stages, mentored by her sister Maura. Grace’s parents encouraged her to follow a practical career. Putting her musical hobby to one side she graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978 with a degree in physical therapy and embarked on a career as a physical therapist. Several years after her college studies she was invited to sing for a local Irish band in Washington DC called “The Hags” and toured the college circuit for two years. Her successor in that band was to become the famed singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. In 1987 Griffith formed a duo called “Hazlewood” with songwriter Susan Graham White. They produced some independent releases and ultimately appeared at the 1991 Philadelphia Folk Festival.
Returning to her celtic roots Grace formed an East Coast Celtic group called Connemara which she formed with fiddler/arranger Cathy Palmer along with harpist Tracie Brown. They were also joined on the albums by guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Zan McLeod. They released 2 albums, firstly Beyond Horizon in 1993 and Siren Song in 1995. Other musicians to participate on the projects were harpists Sue Richards, Julia Lane, Carol Thompson and Mary Fitzgerald along with box player Billy McComiskey and Jody Marshall on hammered dulcimer. In 1993 as a solo artist Griffith released her debut album Every Hue and Shade which came out on her own independent label.
When Blix Street Records based in California were looking for an artist to succeed Ireland's Mary Black as their main project in the U.S., they signed Griffith on a long term recording contract. They revamped her album Every Hue and Shade which became her label debut called Grace. In 1996 Blix Street also licensed the two Connemara recordings for distribution. Grace completed 2 further albums with Minstrel Song, released in 2000, and followed by Sands of Time in 2003. Her album My Life in 2006 drew critical acclaim extending beyond her home base of Washington D.C.
...
Wikipedia