30.05.23 Mary’s finest: Craig Kierce & Seán Barna

About Craig:

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Craig Kierce is an American singer-songwriter who has relocated from Brooklyn to Austin Texas. Craig’s music is influenced by a variety of genres, from Indie Rock and New Wave to Blues- listeners will notice similarities to artists like Elvis Costello and Death Cab for Cutie. Craig released his latest album “Though the Road Between Us is Long” in April 2021. The album was recorded at The Ice Plant studio in New York City and is available for streaming everywhere. Craig can be found playing solo or with his band in Austin, New York, or around Europe.

About Seán:

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Seán Barna, the most recent addition to the iconic Kill Rock Stars label, is a defining voice in the art of queer storytelling. From his first release, Cutter Street, an EP of notable introspection and intensity, through his newest single, Everyone’s a Queen on Halloween, Barna has developed an exacting, penetrative lyrical style and vocal delivery that meticulously dissects the darker corners of the queer experience. In 2021, his 22-date national tour as the lead-in band for Counting Crows demonstrated, through his visceral, commanding presence on stage, that every show is an opportunity to engage and challenge an audience.

Featured in American Songwriter, Billboard Pride, NewNowNext, and Aquarian Weekly, Barna uses empathy, intensity, and his experiences living in NYC, Los Angeles, D.C., and now Philadelphia, to invite us into a scene. NPR’s Bob Boilen, host of the Tiny Desk Concerts and podcast All Songs Considered, said Barna is, “a thrill to see… wearing Ziggy Stardust on his glittery sleeve,” while Barna’s seminal EP, CISSY, was called “a brilliant, giant statement about modern life and sexuality” by Counting Crows frontman, Adam Duritz.