Biography

photo by Josh Rubino

Sarah Blacker will treat you like an old friend before a show and stop you dead in your tracks once she starts to sing.  Her songs are mature with sharp, eloquent lyrics that are easy to relate to and a seemingly endless ability to capture audiences of all kinds with her unique and aesthetic sound. Though just the size of a woodland fairy, (as her logo illustrates) her instrumental skills on the guitar, mandolin, and djembe are enough to make any fellow male peers weak in the knees, (and equally as impressed) with a sound much bigger than her size.

Bob McKillop head of Mainfolkmusic.com states, “Sarah Blacker’s voice is sweet, clear, sharp, and precise, supple, happy, and full of mischief.  She sounds like a street-savy urban vocal busker with world-class voice training.” She has also been named, “the perfect blend of Ella Fitzgerald and Joni Mitchell,” and a ‘River Rising Star’ by Boston’s Independent Radio, 92.5 the River. Candy O’Terry of Magic 106.7 calls her “an artist our listeners should know about,” while two local DJs- Cat Wilson of WCIB Hyannis and Carmelita of WAAF Boston, have also taken a shining to Blacker and regularly promote her record and her busy touring schedule. Barbara Dacey of WMVY, Martha’s Vineyard also chose her newest record’s single, ‘I Should Speak‘ as number 2 on the station’s ‘Best of Unchartered Waters’ charts.

Blacker is also a prolific songwriter with more than 400 songs to her credit. Her debut release, ‘The Only Way Out is Through,’ released October, 2009, co-produced by Rob Loyot [Girls Guns and Glory, Entrain] and Sean McLaughlin of 37′ Productions [Bone Dry System, Vary Lumar, Lannen Fall] presented 11 of these songs in a breathtaking, captivating way. This record, Blacker’s quirky songwriting and extremely unique vocals, have made it easy for Sarah Blacker to perk the ears of radio DJs nationally, who have been eager to add her release to their playlists, and invite her to perform live in their studios. [She has since visited WMJX, WCIB, WMVY, WAAF, WNCW, WMPG, WNCR to name just a few]

Sarah Blacker is a full-time Music Therapist turned full-time touring singers/songwriter. She has been scanning the coast-line, performing (both solo and with her band All Kinds of Sugar consisting of Chuck Fisher on lead guitar, Sean McLaughlin on bass, and various other special guests) from Burlington, VT all the way down to Columbia, SC with plans to head further south in April, and to Texas for SXSW in March. When in town, she does run private and group music Therapy sessions out of her private studio in Dedham, MA, specializing in working with children with Autism. She was presented by an award for fundraising efforts and commitment to helping individuals with Autism, by AFAM [Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts] and has even facilitated Music Therapy groups at Doug Flutie sponsored events. Ending in May 2009, with perfect timing to promote her new record, was her career as the full-time pediatric Music Therapist at Boston Medical Center, due to the hospital’s financial state of emergency.

Since a very successful local CD Release Party to over 300 Blacker fans at the Hard Rock Cafe, Boston in October 2009, A 7-City CD Release Tour, and a month-long residency at Toad, in Cambridge, MA, Blacker has headed south on two impressive 2-week tours, and even released an electronic dance track titled, ‘Am Alive,’ which she co-wrote with Egyptian DJ’s Shiha, and Nii. This song was picked up by the Grammy-nominated DJ, Martin Roth, who chose to remix the song for  his latest release as the CD’s single. The song has been eating up the electronic charts since, and Blacker, Shiha and Nii are currently working on a new track to be released come spring!

Blacker is currently putting plans in place to begin recording a brand new album, and to continue touring the country with her black lab, Beasley.

Blacker has supported such great acts as the Grateful Dead’s Vince Welnick, Liam Finn, Laura Veirs, Greg Hawkes of the Cars, Jason Isbell formerly of the Drive By Truckers, Carbon Leaf, Meg Hutchinson, Will Dailey, Paddy Casey and more.

Notable Appearances, Accomplishments

Sarah has performed live on the following stations:

• Boston- 92.5 the River, Magic 106.7, WAAF, WCIB Cape Cod, WKKL Cape Cod, WMVY Martha’s Vineyard, WMFO Medford
• NC- WNCW Spindale, 98.1 the River, Asheville
• VA- WRRW Williamsburg, WCNR Charlottesville
• WMPG Portland, ME, WSCA Portsmouth, NH

Visit the ‘Music’ Page to see which stations spin SB’s record, ‘The Only Way Out is Through’

• the Hynes Convention Center for ‘Down to Earth Fest,’ & ‘CollegeFest’
• Gillette Stadium’s Patriot Place
• Toad, The Lizard Lounge & Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
• Dedham Music Fest, Dedham, MA
• the Rockwood Music Hall, and the Livingroom NYC
• the Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
• One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME
• the Fairfield Theater Company, Fairfield, CT
• the Vineyard Playhouse, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
• Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

and many, many more!

She has shared the stage with:

• Vince Welnick, Grateful Dead keyboardist
• Sara Bareilles
• Paddy Casey
• Marc Broussard
• Laura Veirs
• Liam Finn
• Jason Isbell of the Drive By Truckers
• Carbon Leaf
• Apollo Sunshine
• Michelle Malone of Lillith Fair
• Greg Hawkes of the Cars
• Big Leg Emma

and many more…