Put her on a stage, and watch how within minutes Melissa Ferrick earns a fresh new batch of hardcore fans. She does it simply by being herself: fierce & funny, outspoken & vulnerable, passionate & playful. Above all, Ferrick’s keenly aware that a truly memorable concert will contain as many shifts of energy and spur-of-the-moment surprises as life itself. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a masterful guitarist, or that she’s got a powerhouse voice and a constantly deepening catalogue of irresistible songs.

Then there’s the emotional honesty of Ferrick’s first-person lyrics; the force of her vocal delivery; the disciplined fury of her musicianship; and her instinctive ability to connect to her audience with both confidence and grace.

Whether playing an acoustic set in an intimate club or rocking a crowd of thousands, Melissa takes command of her surroundings and beckons her growing community of listeners to hear where she’ll take them next. And take them she does. Playing well over 150 dates a year, Melissa packs venues like Manhattan and LA’s Knitting Factory, New Orleans’ House of Blues, Slim’s in San Francisco, and Boston’s Somerville Theatre.

It wasn’t until she picked up a guitar that she truly found her own voice. "I feel like we found each other," Melissa says of her favorite instrument. "I’m constantly discovering ways I can make sounds come out of it; ways I can make an acoustic guitar not sound like an acoustic guitar."