2021 TasteBreakers Music Contest Winner!
In my show, I’ll be displaying a wide variety of original music, many of which will be released in the weeks following the performance. It will also be one of the first live (that is, in-person) performances of Times New Roman, a band I co-created with my cousin, Vivi. I’ll be promoting the releases of such songs as “21st Century” and “Grace,” as well as the debut of the Times New Roman EP, “Calibri.” The majority of the songs will have a coffeeshop vibe, but additionally, I’ll also be incorporating more pop, rock, and live concert aspects into the show than I’ve done in previous performances.
Ann Gray is a 15-year-old singer-songwriter from Norfolk, Virginia, who has been humming and singing since birth. Ann Gray had just begun performing at local open mics when the pandemic closed all live music venues in 2020. Like a lot of other musicians, she turned to social media to share her music virtually- posting videos to Instagram and Facebook, doing livestreams, even performing at online music festivals and open mics.
In the summer of 2020 Ann Gray started work on her debut EP, produced by Skye Zentz, but work on that too was slowed by the pandemic. Released on July 30, 2021, and featuring 6 uniquely original songs, “Foolish” highlights the versatility of Ann Gray’s eclectic style and her impressive range as both a pop vocalist and a folk lyricist.
Since then, Ann Gray has started performing in front of in-person audiences again in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. She has appeared on the radio for live acoustic sessions and, on October 9, 2021, she won the Zeiders American Dream Theater TasteBreakers contest for emerging musical artists. Her young musical career will be profiled on the public television program, Curate, in January 2022.
Ann Gray’s song, The Space Between was included on the Hunter at Sunrise Sunrise Sessions, Volume Two: The Pandemic Recordings. Her newest single, Sirens, was released on November 19, 2021. The following week, she was back in the studio recording two of the songs that she performed at the TasteBreakers contest, as well as several others. She is also finishing production on an EP with her cousin Vivi, to be released in early 2022.
