On some Thursdays, the Nepenthe Gallery in Hollin Hills has local musicians as guests at their open houses.
Local musician Bridget Artman is impacted by uncertainty and covid, so her latest song delves into these factors with a new slant from anything she’s done. Her one-person show has even changed and now she is using a drummer to get the sound right on this new song, which doesn’t even have a title yet. “It’s my most ‘me’ song yet,” she said.
This new song deals with making mistakes in life and repeating those mistakes in one form or another. One lyric, “why do I keep doing this,” is focused on those mistakes and the stress that surrounds them. She hopes it’s “something they can listen to and tune out the world,” she said. There’s a 1980s musical slant to her music, and groups, “The Pixies,” and “Still Woozie,” are influences for her.
Grant Hamilton is a drummer that she’s joined up with recently, and he adds another dimension to the songs. “If I want to go in the indie rock direction, live drums is essential to that.”
In New York state Bridget Artman played in a place overlooking the water.
Both Artman and Hamilton live in the Collingwood community of Mount Vernon.
“I worked with a new producer on this,” Artman added, and has a demo track she uses for promotions.
Artman started playing the guitar at a young age and graduated from West Potomac High School in 2020. She’s played a few coffee shops and restaurants in Alexandria including the Nepenthe Art Gallery in Hollin Hills. Word of mouth seems to work. “The more gigs I play, the more I get,” she said. “Sometimes you have to pester people until they let you play there,” she added.
In addition to playing music she takes on the role of sound technician and took a course at the Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, Md. She runs the audio board at a few clubs in the area and is happy to be one of the few women in a field where she sees a lot of men. “It’s cool to see other girls doing that,” she said.
If you go….
Bridget Artman Music
Light Horse Restaurant
715 King Street, Alexandria
Mon., July 31, 6-8 p.m.
She has family roots in New York and took a trip to New York City earlier this summer to play a few places there as well. One place was Mary-O’s in the lower east side and they have invited her back next year. “The place was filled, it was a fun night,” she said.
Artman’s song comes out on July 30 and she plans to launch it to fans on July 31 when she plays at the Light Horse in Old Town.
Mary-O’s in New York City.