“Who is Grace Gardner?” It’s a question that’s been on many of our minds and lips throughout these past two weeks. It makes sense why: Gardner’s most recent and second single to date, “Deny Me,” has been doing numbers. Upon its release, “Deny Me” received substantial Spotify Editorial adds, with support on New Music Friday, Soft Morning, Next Gen Singer-Songwriter, and Singled Out. The track also received a massive amount of press and publication coverage, with articles by laurasplaylist, Sheesh, Early Rising, and Kasey’s Playlist. Above all that, though, is the recurrent mention amongst tons of our industry peers, seemingly out of nowhere; I had this press release sent to me by numerous people who, from my understanding, don’t know each other. All of these factors combined have allowed for “Deny Me” to receive 100k+ streams in less than 6 days, bringing up Gardner’s monthly listeners from around 16k-68k, while still growing. This, to me, makes it very clear that Gardner is making big waves fast, and that the sky is the limit if she continues to work at this trajectory.

In many instances, when a new artist grows this fast, bystanders and out-of-context witnesses are quick to jealously throw inaccurate terms around like “industry plant.” How, they ask, could someone possibly become so well received, and authentically, so fast? Well, it actually makes a lot of sense once you hear Gardner’s music. With a soft yet powerful, pitch perfect voice, and inspiration from Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell, Gardner might be the sound this new generation of songwriters has been missing, and therefore, one in high demand. Originally born and raised in Texas, and then having moved to New Orleans, Gardner’s regional influences definitely show through her work, too, in a very unique way. Gardner makes the kind of music that you want to hear in a field, maybe while spinning with your arms out, or for sitting on a picnic blanket and watching a pink and orange sunset, or on a rainy day in a reading nook with an oatmilk latte. So sure, there is a ton of music being made right now, and a ton of female song-writers within this niche side of the industry, but none, I promise, have this truly nostalgic and homely cadence, tonality, or aesthetic.

Grace Gardner, we look forward to continuing to witness your climb to fame, and we can’t wait to learn more about you. In the meantime, we prescribe our readers tune in, so they don’t have to rely on circling back to us once she’s already hit it big. As “Deny Me” is the lead single from Grace Gardner’s debut EP, “Peach,” due for release early 2023, make sure you keep your eye out for that, too!