Well, after going on tour with my drummer last year, I was inspired to describe our music with a poem that captures the images, sounds, and experiences that have shaped us as a band:

wind farms across Kansas,
dissonant pop music,
old pianos in used book stores,
and spontaneous mountain dance parties
make us want to sing and play drums
in public squares
and Ethiopian restaurants

Also, people who like certain well-known piano-based artists—like Regina Spektor or Fiona Apple—tend to like our sound. But we’ve played gigs with straight-ahead jazzers, classical cellists, indie-rockers, and hip-hop artists who gravitated to our music, too. People see “female vocalist piano player” and think “must sound like Norah Jones,” but then, those people, when they catch me live with my drummer, are usually surprised by what they hear. My dad is a rock-n-roll drummer, my mom raised me listening to Ethel Merman and Barbara Streisand (Broadway show tunes), and I studied jazz piano at University of Maryland, College Park. Mix those three genres of music together (with passionate environmentalism and questions about how to find true love), and out come my songs, I guess!

Ms.Fridrich Maryland DC Virginia New Album You Call That B

I’ve learned that it’s a lot of hard work, and, though it looks glamorous on the outside, it’s one of the most difficult businesses work in today. But, as I found out pretty early on, I LOVE performing more than any other work I could do. Somehow, “success,” in a monetary sense, doesn’t seem to matter to me as much as “succeeding” to entertain and move people. If I can give people that feeling of life being worth it (either through inspiration or solace)—which I, myself, have gotten from music all my life, especially when times were hard—then, I think I’ve done what I’m supposed to do.

You have played at the Folk Festival previously. What aspects of the festival do you prominently remember?

I remember seeing a middle-aged couple dancing on the sidewalk by Piney Branch Road, just outside the tent, during our set. That was really cool!!

What are the links to find out more about you?

I have a YouTube channel, which I update regularly now:

We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Just google “msfridrich,” and you’ll find us!

http://www.msfridrich.com/
http://www.facebook.com/msfridrich
http://icallthatbrave.tumblr.com/
http://msfridrich.bandcamp.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/msfridrich