Breaking Barriers in Music with Grace Givertz
Grace Givertz is a multi-instrumentalist who uses her honest lyrics to bring a refreshing sound to indie folk. Her forthcoming sophomore record is a poetic conversation on the journey of a marginalized musician in a genre that has historically underrepresented her. In Winter 2023, Grace hosted several exciting events at the Harvard Ed Portal that brought musical warmth to January and February's long, cold nights.
"As a disabled woman of color, there are countless instances daily that remind me that I am a bit different. Most of them do not make me feel great or empowered—or even proud of how much I have been through. I get embarrassed every time I cough or get asked, "What are you?" Every time I hear my bones crack or a man knowingly stands too close to me on the train, I feel the weight of my differences.
Despite how I may feel a lot of the time, I am part of something when I am making music.
Past Events
These workshops were offered on Thursdays, January 26–February 16, 2023 at the Harvard Ed Portal
Led by Allston indie-folk artist and two-time Boston Music Award nominee Grace Givertz, this workshop series taught how to explore emotions through song. With a focus on lyric writing, Grace demonstrated her unique approach to crafting songs in the most unlikely places.
with special guest Jake Blount
This live performance and conversation took place on January 20, 2023 at the Harvard Ed Portal
Community members enjoyed a concert featuring an unplugged set of new album tracks as they were written—just Grace and her banjo and guitar. Afterwards, multi-award winning musician Jake Blount joined Grace for a heart-to-heart on the journey of a marginalized musician in a genre that has historically underrepresented them.
Born and raised in Jupiter, Florida, Grace Givertz has been writing songs and performing since she was eleven years old.
Following her first EP The Light in 2017, Grace turned her wit to grit when she released her independent record Year of the Horse (2019). Playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica in addition to vocals, Year of the Horse showcases Grace's ability to turn lemons into lemonade. She writes openly about living with chronic illness and how it has affected every aspect of her life, turning tragedy into a triumphant debut.
Since her arrival in Boston in 2016, Grace Givertz has been featured in several publications including The Boston Globe, Vanyaland, and Allston Pudding. A two-time Boston Music Award nominee, Grace has performed at well-loved Boston venues including Club Passim, Brighton Music Hall, The Burren, and Great Scott. In 2022, Grace was invited to join the inaugural cohort of the Harvard Ed Portal's artist pipeline program. She is a 2022 Live Arts Boston grant recipient from The Boston Foundation.
"The only real option is to smile at how much [Grace] packs into a tiny punch of a song." – digboston
Jake Blount (pronounced: blunt) is an award-winning musician and scholar based in Providence, RI. He is half of the internationally touring duo Tui, a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, and a two-time winner of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival (better known as Clifftop). A specialist in the early folk music of Black Americans, Blount is a skilled performer of spirituals, blues and string band repertoire. Blount has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Newport Folk Festival, and numerous other venues across and beyond the United States. He has presented his scholarly work at museums and universities including the Smithsonian Institution, Berklee College of Music and Yale University. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, No Depression, and NPR. His most recent album, The New Faith, is the latest installment of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings' African American Legacy Series.
"[Jake is] a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist...with a hauntingly gorgeous voice and a bottomless, scholarly knowledge of American musical history." – The Los Angeles Times
Click here to learn more about banjo history and Black stringband music and dance.