Boston Music Award–winning songwriter Abbie Barrett plays regularly in the New England area with her band, opening for such acts as the B-52s, Juliana Hatfield, Will Dailey, and Rhett Miller. The band features Mike Oram (guitar), Ed Valauskas (bass, production), and Rice Edmonston (drums and vocals).
Press:
VOIX DE GARAGE GRENOBLE
BY BERTRAND TAPPAZ (2022)
Abbie Barrett composes SONGS that don’t care about labels! Pop, Americana, Indie Rock, New Wave, College Rock, Power Pop ... No matter what label you put on the bottle, its musical content will flow through your veins and make your soul vibrate!
FASTER AND LOUDER
BY LORDE RUTLEDGE (2022)
In typical Abbie Barrett style, I Will Let You Know delivers great song after great song in a way that transcends genre … Far from just one of Boston’s local treasures, Abbie Barrett is one of the most talented singers and songwriters in the contemporary indie rock world.
THE BOSTON HERALD
BY JED GOTTLIEB (2021)
Long one of the city’s great singer-songwriters-band leaders, Barrett gets freaky up in “Blood & Bone.” So freaky it’s mid-career Radiohead, mid-career St. Vincent, and maybe Flaming Lips or PJ Harvey too? Join me in erasing your brain trying to understand how cool and crazy this new tune is.
IMPROPER BOSTONIAN
BY PAUL ROBICHEAU (2016)
That Shame showcases her in full rock mode, sometimes evoking the tone and phrasing of the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde...[Her] craftsmanship extends from the gorgeous vocals of “As I Wanted You” and the soaring crescendos of “Falling” to the catchy ’80s-flavored punch of “Take It in Stride.”
THE BOSTON HERALD
BY JED GOTTLIEB (2016)
Nominated for female vocalist and singer-songwriter of the year: Yes, Barrett is a woman who sings and writes songs. But she could just as easily have nabbed nominations for album of the year for That Shame, or song of the year for the tough, tight rock tune “Take It In Stride.” She also should be a contender for best live act.
MAGNET MAGAZINE
(2014)
“‘Here To Stay,’ the opener on the new LP, is a pop-driven story of a woman struggling in a world where success depends on standards other than her own. The track bursts with an energy of hopefulness and despair, matching the feelings of the protagonist all along the way.”
THE BIG TAKEOVER
(2014)
Such boldface names as Neko Case, Lana Del Rey, Cat Power, and Fiona Apple have been tossed about to describe the sound of Boston’s Abbie Barrett & The Last Date, but the massed vocal harmonies in this song off their forthcoming album, The Triples, reminds us of David Crosby’s brilliant but now largely forgotten 1971 solo LP If I Could Only Remember My Name — jazzed with the proggy propulsive drive of Annie Haslam and Renaissance.