When she was 13, Gracie Abrams uploaded a cover of “Waiting Room” by Phoebe Bridgers to Soundcloud. “It was the first thing I ever posted on the internet, and it was so s****y,” she laughs. “It was literally me recording into the computer speakers.” In October last year, almost a decade later, Abrams opened for Bridgers in Austin, Texas. The two musicians shared a bedazzled cowboy hat on stage.
It was the latest in a series of pinch-me moments for the 22-year-old Californian. With the release of her debut single “Mean It” – a soft and sparse death knell for a dying relationship – in 2019, the LA-based Abrams invited listeners into her world of bedroom pop melancholia. While the careers of other aspiring musicians were imperilled to various degrees by the pandemic, hers flourished. She released two acclaimed EPs, at the same time almost doubling her Instagram following. In April this year, she opened for her close friend, Olivia Rodrigo, and is currently in London, midway through her own international headline tour. Along the way, Abrams has picked up famous fans beyond her father, the director JJ Abrams of Star Wars fame. Lorde, Post Malone, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift are all vocal Gracie stans. And Bridgers too, of course.
