Melissa Branin

Although she was raised at the feet of Utah's towering Rockies, Melissa Branin developed as a musician and songwriter in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She began jamming in dorm rooms, playing at local emporiums and lending her soft, sweet, serene sound to local theatre productions in her college years. From there, she has evolved as a lyricist and a musician, now regularly performing at local venues around Northern Virginia and Washington DC.

Like the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains, her music allows the listener to experience the perfect expression of something unique. Melissa bares her soul gracefully and forcefully in her EP ‘Slave to the Seasons’. Each track encourages the listener to subtly reflect on the innermost feelings of a jagged, imperfect self, allowing an emotional accessibility and introspective pause that dig deeper than your typical singer/songwriter. Her verses fuse together, like watching the darkness of night slowly fade into morning. Melissa's live performances (inviting, disarming, and impressive) transport her audience to another place and time, where memories are clear and small moments are beautiful.

Beginning in 2008, Melissa began "The House Show Series", a regular concert series that she hosts in her living room. Getting into the house concert movement has allowed her to share the stage with fantastic artists like Allie Moss and Bess Rogers (Ingrid Michaelson), Luke Brindley (Brindley Brothers, Deep River Project), Dean Fields, Louis Ledford, Jonathan Vassar, Raina Rose, and Rebecca Loebe. In 2010, Melissa started "Original Vagabond Radio", a podcast for independent music. Both of these ventures have been exciting and rewarding.