JP Musician Geared Up for EP Release Tonight

By Laura Herrera

The day of the her show, Abby Brown described her pre-performance routine: packing up, setting up, thinking she'd forgotten everything, remembering she had everything, freaking out and then getting excited.

Tonight there is an added bonus.

After four years of writing and recording, Brown, a Jamiaca Plain resident and recent Berklee graduate is set to release her first EP record “Go All In.” The Midway Café will host Brown’s EP release performance at 8:30 p.m. on July 25.

“The most exciting part I think is going to be tonight. Hopefully it will be tonight… unless something goes horribly wrong. In that case tonight will be the biggest challenge,” Brown joked.

In reality, Brown said her biggest challenge was the entire writing process. At first, Brown said she was writing “safe” songs that other people wanted to hear or that avoided gender-specific pronouns.

“I didn’t really feel ready. I think I needed a couple of years to grow and gain some confidence,” she said.

Today, her new record includes deep and honest love songs about women (“Angelina” ) and taking a risk in relationships (“Gamble).

Brown, who was raised in Iowa before moving to Boston to study songwriting and guitar at Berklee College of Music, also attributed her open songwriting partially to Jamaica Plain where “being queer is the norm.”

Recently, Brown was featured as “Almost Famous” on Autostraddle.com, a popular website on queer women culture.  She was the first Massachusetts artist to be featured and the piece was made sweeter since Brown is a regular Autostraddle reader.

“I submitted my stuff to [Autostraddle] and I figured I would never hear back,” Brown said. “[After being contacted] I was like ',I’m going to pick myself off the floor now.’ ”

What comes after the July 25 record release is unknown. Brown said she has considered everything from moving to Los Angeles, New York City or finding any alternative way she can tour with her music.

But regardless of the plan, Brown is sure of one thing after releasing the album:

“I’m looking forward to writing again. I’ve spent so much time recording and I haven’t just sat and written in a while.

To hear Abby Brown's music or buy the digital or physical CD visit her website. CDs will also be available at the show for $8.

Update: Watch Abby Brown perform "Angeline" at The Midway Cafe for her EP record release performance.