Frances Kramer

Raised on classical, pop, folk, and rock music in historic Wethersfield, Connecticut (one of the hippest places to be in the 1600’s), Frances Kramer was trained on piano and oboe and self-taught on guitar, banjo, and voice, playing professionally from the age of fifteen. After making an escape from Bryn Mawr College, she found herself singing country and folk tunes and playing the banjo for a meager living followed by singing and playing guitar in rock bands for no living. While living in a converted school bus camper in the northeastern corner of the state, she began to compose poetry and to write songs and instrumental music.
Transplanted to New York City, she at first remained on the fringes of the music scene studying jazz piano, then performed accompanying world music and R&B artists, all the while wandering around with a notebook and pencil, writing songs, instrumental music, and poems in her own unique style. “I have a very limited attention span for listening to music (although I can play for hours on end), which motivates me to write music with a lot of melodic and lyrical hooks and a lot of rhythm to keep me and my listeners entertained. I also never bother to finish a song unless there is a true feeling in it and inspiration to keep it flowing from beginning to end.”
The result is well-written and performed music of originality and integrity the likes of which are becoming rare in today’s music scene. “In order to develop as an artist, there has to be time and space to dream and experiment, which can be hard to manage. I have always had a great desire to put my personal vision into a fixed form.”
She has had the privilege of working with supporting musicians including world music great, bass player and producer Melik Yirmibir, harmonica virtuoso Rob Papparozzi, fiddler extraordinaire Kenny Kosek, accordian ace Charlie Giordano, and versatile fretted instrumentalist Jon Sholle.
Her 2005 debut album, "Don't Say Goodbye" contains two songs which charted in the top ten at AC/Hot AC radio and garnered her a Best New Female Artist nomination from New Music Weekly Magazine. Her second album, Heart Songs, released in 2008 is a set of stripped-bare live acoustic guitar and vocal performances including covers of songs by Patty Griffin, Tom Waits, and Hank Williams.
She is currently performing an acoustic show with bass player/producer Melik Yirmibir that contains songs from her upcoming, as yet untitled, third album.