Will Orchard, Jess Kerber, & Nora Meier
- Indie Folk
- Singer/Songwriter
Tickets will be on sale to the public 5/15 at noon. On sale to all Passim members 5/5 at noon. On sale to All Access Passim members 5/1 at noon.
Will Orchard
- Singer/Songwriter
Will Orchard is a songwriter from the East Bay of Rhode Island. He began writing songs at a young age, and gradually became a presence in the Providence, RI music scene. He experienced his first artistic self-realization around age 16, and founded his experimental folk project, LittleBoyBigHeadOnBike, upon a mountain of home recorded releases. Inspired by the likes of Sparklehorse, Mount Eerie, and Frankie Cosmos, he became obsessed with prolificacy and fell in love with the process of home recording.
He eventually found his way to Boston, MA’s Berklee College of Music, where he befriended members of indie-rock fixture, The Brazen Youth. He quickly found his way out of Berklee, residing at Ashlawn Farm with The Brazen Youth. It was during this time that he released his most significant projects as LittleBoyBigHeadOnBike, God Damn Wonderland and Big Blue Butterflies, produced by Charlie Dahlke of The Brazen Youth. It was also during this time that Orchard began to tour heavily around the Eastern US, both as a solo act and as a touring bassist for The Brazen Youth.
As he began shifting towards a slightly more Americana-centered sound, Orchard began playing under his own name. His first record as Will Orchard was released in early 2020. A homespun record, Old Friends on the Mountain was recorded in various living spaces in New England, but mixed in Providence, RI by one of Will’s musical heroes, Jeff Prystowsky of The Low Anthem. During the initial phase of the pandemic, Orchard’s first record attracted the attention of Producer Allen Tate of Brooklyn-based band San Fermin. The following record, I Reached My Hand Out was released in May 2021 via San Fermin’s own label, Better Company Records. Utilizing a more synth-laden, but still folk-rock sound, the record featured a full band including singer/songwriter Jess Kerber. The record was eventually followed by a several month-long DIY tour around the entire US and Europe.
2022 saw the release of the Go Home Instead EP, another collaboration with Allen Tate, but also featuring three other members of San Fermin. With string arrangements orchestrated by Ellis Ludwig-Leone and performed by Claire Wellin (Youth in a Roman Field), the instrumentation provided a lush and colorful backdrop for some of Orchard’s most vulnerable and heartfelt lyrics to date. The EP has been praised as “Hush Folk Luminosity” by Glide Magazine and has received attention from numerous other indie music outlets.
Orchard’s latest EP, Learning To Stand was released independently in May 2023, and was followed by tour dates around Europe and the US. He is currently based in Nashville, TN where he resides with his partner and fellow singer/songwriter, Jess Kerber, and their cat, Tahini.
Jess Kerber
- Folk
- Singer/Songwriter
Jess Kerber is a 20 year-old singer/songwriter from the Greater New Orleans area, taking influences from the 60s/70s era of folk. With both parents being musicians, from an early age she was exposed to artists such as Joni Mitchell, The Allman Brothers, and Bill Evans.
From self-releasing her debut EP, entitled Falling Forward (shortly after her high school graduation), to being chosen as one of the top ten songwriters to participate in the first Trimble House Songwriting Series in Nashville less than a year later, Jess is putting in as much work and time as possible to be able to continue to form her craft. Jess currently lives in Boston, MA, where she attends Berklee College of Music as the 2018 Lollapalooza full-tuition scholarship recipient; she is currently studying songwriting and music production and engineering. In her music, Jess is consistently striving to write what feels true and to continue to grow upward and on. But mostly, she is working towards exploring all corners of the planet while hopefully, making a change for the better with her words. And also making granola.
Nora Meier
- Folk
- Singer/Songwriter
Nora Meier is a diehard music fan, a frequent moviegoer, a daughter of two English majors, an Oregonian at heart, a verbal processor, a big reader, extremely stubborn, and always writing. She was raised on her dad’s curated mixtapes and epic vinyl collection, which cultivated her deep love for the format of The Album and an obsession with Bruce Springsteen.
Her very own debut album, Outfield, was released in October of 2024. It was born during a full moon / lunar eclipse on a farm in Connecticut with the help of some of her favorite musicians. Eleven songs were tracked in seven days, interspersed by basketball scrimmages, deli trips and walks around a big field. The album was produced and mixed by Charles Dahlke (The Brazen Youth) and mastered by Andrew Goldring.
Nora lives in Boston, Massachusetts.