As one half of the duo Tune-Yards Merrill Garbus, with her partner Nate Brenner, has been at the forefront and at the center of indie rock’s brightest and boldest since 2008, when their debut BiRd-BrAiNs was first released. Born to musician parents and raised in suburban Connecticut on classical, renaissance, and bluegrass music, and dancing to early english country dance music, Merrill’s childhood was steeped in traditional music and rhythm. Simultaneously, she came of age against the backdrop of 80’s pop, and the emergence of New York hip hop, which remains to this day a core influence.

As her creative and musical interests and pursuits evolved from piano to folk music, and acapella singing, as well as theater and puppeteering, Merrill Garbus grew her confidence and her skills to become the brilliant and insightful writer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist she is today in Tune-Yards. On the heels of releasing their fifth full length album called sketchy, we hear how Merrill’s internal clock of rhythm, her love of harmony, and the importance of using her voice to examine both the personal and the political has fueled her life-long passion for music, and how music in turn has saved her life.