The Righteous Babes: Gracie and Rachel, Holly Miranda, Jocelyn Mackenzie
The Righteous Babes are a supergroup of powerhouse female artists, banded together under Ani DiFranco's legacy label, Righteous Babe Records. Think boygenius meets Bonny Light Horseman with an air of Lilith Fair – currently the group is comprised of three independent groups; Gracie and Rachel, a chamber-pop piano-violin duo who have appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk, Holly Miranda, a sultry folk rock guitarist who has toured with Karen O, and Jocelyn Mackenzie, a percussionist, electric ukulele player, and former member of Pearl and the Beard. The artists perform one another's original songs in fresh, unique arrangements that highlight technical prowess and deliver a stage show that is acrobatic and heart-pounding. Their distinctive vocal blend and strong musicianship shine through as they support one another as fellow artists who delight in sharing the stage, righteously.
GRACIE AND RACHEL
Gracie and Rachel press back on the boundaries of pop music, their catalog marked by hauntingly spare arrangements, bold, baroque flourishes, evanescent vocal stylings, and penetrative lyrical tact, drawing wide-ranging acclaim from tastemakers including NPR, FLOOD, Flaunt, SPIN, TIDAL, Talkhouse, and American Songwriter. Their forthcoming EP ‘Nowhere Now Here’ (out May 19 on Righteous Babe Records) honors those sonic elements foundational to Gracie and Rachel’s sound, and elevates them—a melodious new vigor coursing through the tracklist, ranging from pointedly delicate to tenderly anthemic.
Seen on stages opening for Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Julien Baker, San Fermin and more, the collaborative duo of keyboardist, Gracie Coates, and violinist, Rachel Ruggles, have performed two NPR Tiny Desk Concerts and been praised by the outlet’s Bob Boilen to “mix pop and classical in stark, infectious ways and make unforgettable, surprising music.”
HOLLY MIRANDA
Holly Miranda grew up between Detroit and Nashville, two music towns that would influence her own journey in a very profound way. She began playing piano at the age of six, taught herself guitar at fourteen and moved to New York at sixteen to start her professional career. For over twenty years, Holly has been performing, writing and producing with some of the best talent in the business. She has performed with the likes of Karen O, Lou Reed, The XX, and Lesley Gore. She released two records with her band The Jealous Girlfriends and has co- written and produced a mass of other projects. In 2021, Miranda and her long time collaborator, Ambrosia Parsley (Shivaree), started a co- operative record label called Eye Knee Records. The phonetical spelling of “Ayni”; a way of living by reciprocity. For every ten releases they donate 100% of the proceeds to a charity that benefits the communities of Earth. They have released twenty-one singles and a collection of sound installations Holly wrote for a sculpture garden in Pamplona, Spain (Un Bosque). Each single is accompanied by a music video and a story, the readers digest of record labels if you will.
JOCELYN MACKENZIE
With a shape-shifting sound that is at once personal and universal, Jocelyn Mackenzie creates intimate pop songs for a generation of seekers. She is a Brooklyn-based musician, maker, and psychic medium, well known as the singing drummer from Brooklyn’s indie-pop trio Pearl and the Beard. With a powerhouse voice and unbridled vulnerability, her latest single Blouse on Righteous Babe Records is an anthem to reclaiming power through self pleasure, and boasts a music video directed and choreographed by seasoned Broadway choreographer Paul McGill. Her debut solo album PUSH, which American Songwriter calls "unique and infectious," was released on Righteous Babe in 2021 and was arranged entirely for string quartet by an all-star team of composers including Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady), Adam Schatz (Japanese Breakfast, Sylvan Esso), and Emily Hope Price (Pearl and the Beard, Kishi Bashi).
Her music, which Under the Radar describes as “spirited, powerful, [and] jubilant,” has been heard in commercials, film, theater, and television. At her core, Mackenzie's extra-sensory skills inform her creative expressions, integrating media and meaning to create a sound that is both sensual and personal, “at once timeless and very much necessary in this moment.” (Popdust)
