Named ‘Performer of the Year’ in the 2024 New England Music Awards, Sarah Blacker captures hearts and minds each time she sings. Called “her own artist” by the Huffington Post with music coined as “soaring folk gospel” by the Patriot Ledger, Blacker has truly stepped into her power as a singer/songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and force to be reckoned with.
Based in the historical coastal witch city of Salem, MA, it’s no surprise that each note she sings comes infused with a touch of magic. Inspired by nature, connection and the human experience, Blacker’s hope is that listeners find themselves in the lyrics or her thoughtfully crafted original songs.
When it comes to releasing new music, 2024 has been fruitful for Sarah Blacker (and her band) the Light.
'Live at Rockport Sundays' released 8/23/24, features Blacker and her trio performing three of their most popular singles and was recorded live at the legendary Tom Rush's studio in Kittery, Maine.
‘Horizon Line,’ Blacker’s newest studio EP is raw, stripped down and vulnerable, just the way she wanted it to be. Recorded (mostly) live and mixed at Boston Music Award winning producer, Sean McLaughlin’s 37’ Productions studios, and called “tender, defiant and genius” by the Boston Herald, it was performed and co-produced by Blacker and her husband, Aaron Z. Katz (Percy Hill, the Dejas). Featuring 3 songs about inner strength, the limitless parameters of time, being true to yourself, and the chaotic state of the world, ‘Horizon Line’ is Blacker’s most soulful and raw release, to date.
Blacker, LMHC, MT-BC is also a Psychotherapist and a Board-Certified Music Therapist, and isn't shy to explore the soulful depths of human existence within her lyrics, providing honesty, a touch of sarcasm and always much hope in her songs and at a live show, when telling stories and jokes.
While she is regularly compared to Joni Mitchell with her stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks vocals and unique harmonic twists, she arrives with a side of Classic rock n’roll and jazz. Blacker was raised on Pink Floyd, CSNY, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Phil Collins and the songwriters of the ‘90s including Sarah McLachlan and Tracy Chapman, and then went on to study jazz vocals in high school and at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she graduated with a degree in Music Therapy.
As a solo artist, Blacker has toured nationally and internationally playing sold out shows around Germany and the United States with favorite stops being Philadelphia, Central PA, Portsmouth, NH, Cambridge, MA and Asheville, NC.
Her band, featuring Aaron Z. Katz of Percy Hill on drums/percussion and harmonies, and Phil Selesnick on keys/bass and vocals, singer/songwriters Mark Lipman and Danielle Lovasco on backing vocals allows for familiar songs to find their way from compelling soulful pop shape into jazzy improvisation, and transport the listener from inner peace to gut-punch grooves.
Twice named ‘(Female) Performer of the Year' in the New England Music Awards, a Boston-Music Award nominee and CBS Boston 'Artist to Watch, Blacker has also supported Sara Bareilles, Jefferson Starship, America, Paula Cole, Richard Thompson, Leon Russell, Loudon Wainright and Suzanne Vega to name just a few.
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