Grace Gardner Knows No Bounds
Another night at the Mercury Lounge, but this time with the heartbreakingly relatable and irresistibly funny Grace Gardner and their talented ensemble
PHOTOS BY OLIVE JOLLEY
As someone who sticks closely to a genre, I find myself at the same New York City venues most nights I attend a concert. I’ve discussed these small-roomed venues before, the stages that Madison Square Garden performers name-drop as they detail their humble beginnings in the Lower East Side. At a Maggie Rogers concert just this fall, she listed all the concert halls in New York City she played before MSG. Maybe using Rogers is a biased example, as she attended NYU for her undergrad years and stuck around to pursue music, but I think the notion still stands. Artists make a name for themselves on these stages, and I’m reminded of that fact at every performance. The next big name at MSG tomorrow is getting their practice reps in tonight at their beloved venue, whether that’s the Bowery Ballroom, Irving Plaza, or in the case of Grace Gardner, the Mercury Lounge.
The last concert I saw at the Mercury Lounge was quite recently, when Nashville-based indie-rock band Juniper took the stage in December. I’m never disappointed at Mercury, and that fact was still true this January night. Gardner took the stage with pianist Isabella Amada, drummer Dustin Reinink and guitar player Lonnie Davis. The four played together like they’d been doing it for years, syncing sounds like a choir that’s finally found the right key.
PHOTOS BY OLIVE JOLLEY
This tour, titled the “After Knowing Tour,” was accompanied by Gardner’s recently dropped EP, After Knowing. The seven-song record was released on December 27, with the four-show tour announced soon after. Gardner explained on stage that guitar player Lonnie Davis played a big hand in the release of the EP, and not only by co-producing, mixing and mastering it. Gardner said Davis filled an emotionally supportive role after the two met at a party during Gardner's first visit to Philly. An Instagram posted by Gardner on January 3 said, “It all truly happened because Lonnie Davis dragged me out of my room (and also out of maybe one of the worst and hardest periods of my life thus far).”
Once they finished their first song, the third track from the EP, titled “Firing Sideways,” it was Davis who suggested they put together a whole project. As things got progressively worse in Gardner’s personal life, they said their lyrics felt, “stronger and more cathartic… I kept using words like, ‘unsettling,’ and ‘foreboding,’ and, ‘tastefully disturbing,’ to describe things in the production process,” according to Gardner’s Instagram post. The project was finished in a small town in New Jersey, and after being there for Gardner through the thick of it, Davis was still there, right by Gardner’s side.
“Firing Sideways,” was the second song on Gardner’s setlist at the Mercury Lounge, a beautiful track that highlights all the ways Gardner shines as a musician. The minimal arrangement allows Gardner’s voice to shine through, with gentle guitar work and soft, yet leading percussion that creates a tasteful juxtaposition. Lyrically, Gardner highlights a relatable conundrum; continuously trying to move forward in life, but constantly getting pushed in the wrong direction. “Firing Sideways,” is a metaphor for putting in the effort, but not really getting anywhere.
“You swore you'd done me a favor
By trying to pin me down
Before I had the chance to say something big about the way my name still
lives in your mouth”
Gardner’s ability to distill complex emotions into digestible, relatable lyrics makes them irresistible to an audience. In this verse, Gardner composes the overall message in “Firing Sideways” by highlighting an emotionally manipulative person pinning them down. Instead of pushing Gardner to reach their goals, this interference forces Gardner into a position where they cannot fully express themselves or take action. Even without knowing their catalogue, Gardner’s music is charming, heartbreaking, and intentionally introspective, bringing any audience right into the core of Gardner’s emotions and experiences.
One track that adds to that effect is “Deny Me,” the TikTok top favorite that brought Gardner into the spotlight. On stage at the Mercury Lounge, Gardner explained that an acoustic clip of “Deny Me,” played by Gardner on her guitar, blew up. The video soared to almost 700k views and 115.8k likes, which really inspired Gardner to continue and pursue music as a career. The track has 2.2 million streams on Spotify, Gardner’s most popular track by just about 2 million streams. The opening lines of “Deny Me,” are chilling, which is definitely why the track attracted so many views. It’s haunting, enchanting, and totally twisted in emotion that one can’t help but want to know what comes next. No, I’m not giving it away! Go listen for yourself!!
To hear the song live in New York City was an experience I can only describe as spiritual, a prayer up towards a musical heaven that opened up when Gardner started to play. Davis held it down on guitar with Reinink right behind, developing the instrumental to support Gardner’s voice. “Deny Me” describes the intricacies of falling in love with someone while simultaneously being hurt by them. The title calls to the partner, asking them to make the first move in ending things, in moving on, because the narrator isn’t strong enough to do it on their own. The chorus chants,
“I finally have something to lose
So, let's truce and get through
Will you deny me?”
PHOTOS BY OLIVE JOLLEY
One of the final songs Gardner played at Mercury Lounge was their own cover of “Champagne Supernova,” originally by Oasis. Classic rock songs are my favorite pieces for a modern artist to cover. Hearing a new artist sing an overplayed song draws out the truth of lyrics that have been muddled over time. At another concert this fall, Charli Adams performed a cover of “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World during her opening set for Valley at the Brooklyn Steel in October of 2024. Adams slowed it way down and stripped the instrumental to just her guitar. I’d heard this song so many times before, but never really listened to it. The song seems like it was written for me, or anyone trying to find out where they fit in. I have a new appreciation for it’s message, described perfectly in the second verse,
“Live right now
Yeah, just be yourself
It doesn't matter if it's good enough
For someone else”
Gardner appealed to a similar feeling during their performance of “Champagne Supernova,” a song routinely criticized for having incomprehensible lyrics at certain points. The crowd at Mercury Lounge showed no signs of confusion, but rather derived meaning from Gardner’s perspective. They mentioned that growing up, “Champagne Supernova” was constantly on the radio, sending Gardner into their own imaginary music video every time it played. Gardner said that to them, the song represents growing up. More specifically, how the passage of time presents itself differently in everyone. The first verse sings,
“How many special people change?
How many lives are living strange?
Where were you while we were gettin' high?”
Belting the repeating, “Where were you while we were gettin’ high” with an audience that roared with glee was a catharsis I would’ve paid money for.
Gardner will be releasing new music throughout 2025, so stay tuned to hear the latest!
