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extended bio

The expressive range of singer-songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill – “one of Maine’s most versatile troubadours,” according to Downeast Magazine – is in peak form on her new EP, Making Time. Her stirring lyrics, signature vocal jazz charm, and folk-pop guitar skills meet adventurous production in collaboration with Matt Appleton, Grammy nominated music producer, engineer and saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist from Vermont.

This five-song record encourages us to make time for rest amid the persistent pace of life. Each song navigates a different challenge, yet is fueled by the same energy of possibility. Musically, their multi-layered landscapes are shaped by moody bass lines, bossa nova-inspired rhythms adorned by horns, bright piano, and introspective guitar. “Matt is a deeply thoughtful and inventive producer,” Sorcha offers. “He isn’t afraid to disassemble a song so it can find a truer expression of itself, or suggest ambitious vocal ideas that both harness and stretch beyond my natural strengths.”

Raised by artists in rural coastal Maine, Sorcha was buoyed by early musical explorations and weighed down by early childhood loss. By age 12, songwriting became an empowering catalyst for self-expression. Once she discovered a song could surround grief in beauty and hold many emotions and perspectives at once, she went on to study Music and Anthropology (BA, Skidmore College), Music and Folklore (University College Cork, Ireland), and Community Health Music (Berklee’s Music and Health Institute).

Equally at home performing in folk festivals, jazz clubs, and intimate listening rooms, Sorcha has opened for Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner, folk music icon Tom Rush, and celebrated cellist & multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla. Performance highlights include Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (Emerging Artist), historic Club Passim in Cambridge, MA, Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, ME, and Portland, Maine’s State Theatre, where she sang two original songs with The Fogcutters, Maine’s contemporary big band.

On Making Time, Sorcha invites us – with the hard-won clarity of someone who’s struggled against strong currents – to find a calmer cove in which to rest.

short bios

PARAGRAPH

The expressive range of singer-songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill – “one of Maine’s most versatile troubadours,” according to Downeast Magazine – is in peak form on her new EP, Making Time. Her stirring lyrics, signature vocal jazz charm, and folk-pop guitar skills meet adventurous production in collaboration with Matt Appleton, Grammy nominated music producer, engineer and saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist from Vermont.

SENTENCE

Maine singer-songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill draws you into bluesy grooves, haunting ballads, and intricate indie folk vignettes with her stirring lyrics, signature vocal jazz charm, and powerful presence.

12 WORDS

Sorcha Cribben-Merrill writes stirring indie folk songs featuring powerful jazz vocals.

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HEARING IS BELIEVING: SORCHA CRIBBEN-MERRILL SHARES THE HEALING POWER OF MUSIC WITH YOUNG AND OLD

BY RAY ROUTHIER | STAFF WRITER — Excerpt: “During the hour that she played, Cribben-Merrill got about a dozen residents of the memory care unit moving and dancing, including several in wheelchairs who were spun and twirled by nurses. . . ‘It’s very unusual for most of them to be so engaged, but Sorcha makes eye contact with them and she makes them feel safe,’ said Susan Stadnicki, one of the nurses on duty while Cribben-Merrill played. ‘As a nurse, I love to see the way they react to her. I wish she was here more.’” — Ray Routhier, Portland Press Herald

QUIET | SORCHA CRIBBEN-MERRILL

BY BRIAN KEVIN | EDITOR — “One compliment you can pay the 12 tracks on Quiet, Sorcha Cribben-Merrill’s new solo release, is to say they all sound like maybe you’ve heard them before. That warm familiarity might come from lyrical repetition — her choruses are often echoed, over and over, like an incantation — or from the fact that Cribben-Merrill’s style is a recognizable pastiche of folk, blues, and acoustic pop balladeering (imagine Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam had a baby with Sarah McLachlan and then Tracy Chapman raised it).” — Brain Kevin, Downeast Magazine

BY KRISTER ROLLINS — Sorcha Cribben-Merrill is a talented singer and songwriter who dedicates a lot of her time toward giving back to the community. . . She's helped write lullabies [with The Lullaby Project] …helped develop a music and literacy program at the children's museum and theatre of Maine. And she's worked with kids who have seen incredibly difficult times to tell their stories through music.

THE ACORN EP | RAMBLIN’ RED

AIMSEL PONTI | MUSIC WRITER — “Four women, four bright originals and a Dolly cover leave us hopeful . . . ’Wide Open’ . . . tells tales of old-fashioned heartache and forgiveness: “When you came to me like an unfinished symphony waiting for me to finish the score, you’re like an open-wide open seashore.” Merrill’s voice soars, and the harmonies are spot-on fantastic.” — Aimsel Ponti, Portland Press Herald

"Walk The Line: Sorcha travels far on her full-length debut"

SAM PFEIFLE | PORTLAND PHOENIX — An album with ADD, Sorcha’s Walk It Once just can’t sit still. Like Jack Kerouac in the 1950s, the whole disc has the itch. Sorcha travels down a “Long Country Road,” spends time “Chasing a Moving Train,” rides a “Helium Balloon,” and returns via a “Road of Second Chances.” Along the way, she travels all over the musical spectrum and unveils a suite of musical styles that shows a wide-ranging songwriting ability delivered with an enjoyable and consistent aesthetic.