Meredith Edgar was born in San Francisco but grew up in the South Bay, in a musical home.
“My parents listened to a lot of different artists—rock, folk, country, blues,” Edgar says. “My dad played guitar and sang as a hobby. I’d sing harmonies with him. I started writing songs when I was 14. I asked for a guitar so I could start playing open mics. My dad bought me a guitar, a songbook of Jewel’s album, Pieces Of You, and showed me a few chords. I locked myself in my room for the summer and came out playing some songs.”
She began playing open mic nights at Red Rock Coffee in Mountain View. She made a lot of friends and joined Tin Cat, a band made up of regulars from the open mic. “Four of us were singer/songwriters, so it was all over the place, stylewise,” Edgar says, “but I learned a lot and we had a great time.”
Feeling uncertain about making a living as a musician, Edgar relocated to Austin, Texas, enrolling in St. Edward’s University to study music and psychology. She planned to continue performing, but school took up most of her time. After graduation, she moved to San Francisco and made an album. Watergun was recorded at Expressions Center For New Media in Emeryville. Her friends Edward Schmidt and Seth Schmeideberg produced it.
“I’d never recorded in a studio before,” Edgar says. “I never thought about overdubs and instrumentation, so I went overboard with harmonies on some songs.”
Annapurna Interactive used “Tidal Waves,” one of the songs on Watergun, on the soundtrack for its Maquette video game. Feeling encouraged, Edgar began working on the follow-up, On Whatever You Prey. Then the pandemic lockdown happened.
“It was recorded 10 years after Watergun, at a time when most studios were closed,” Edgar says. “We made it at the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), a nonprofit that does music production education for women, girls and gender-expansive people—so they were allowed to resume operation. I’d been performing masked with my trio, at parklets and small cafes, to keep my chops up.”
Edgar was joined by bandmates, multi-instrumentalist Paul Griffiths and bass-player Sean Silverman. They played everything live, at WAM, with producer Veronica Simonetti.
Some critics have described On Whatever You Prey as “spooky Americana,” but the songs are timeless. They would fit into any country, folk or Americana playlist and be right at home. Edgar’s acoustic guitar opens “American News,” a commentary on today’s dystopian landscape. Griffiths’ banjo dances around the melody, as Edgar comments on school shootings, low wages and ecological disasters. Her melodic, matter-of-fact tone drives home the distressing lyric.
“Blue” serves as a showcase for Edgar’s impressive vocals. She strums her acoustic, with the support of Silverman’s bass, as her voice adds unexpected ad-libs. Her melismatic accents, elongated notes and trills express the feelings of loneliness and sorrow one feels at the end of a relationship. “Pinned” is a jazzy tune with a strong hook, played on acoustic bass and electric guitar. Edgar’s phrasing suggests Billie Holiday singing in a smoke-filled nightclub, as she gently swings through a tale of a guy that’s more in love with himself than he is with her.
“In 2022, I decided it was now or never,” Edgar says. “I quit my day job to focus on building my life around music. It felt like a matter of survival. I saw a bleak road ahead if I kept on doing what I was doing. The last few years made it clear that life is short. I want to make mine meaningful.
“Today, I have a day job as a voice coach and play gigs regularly,” Edgar continues. “I’m self-managed and do all my own booking. I make a fraction of what I did before and that’s a major stressor, but I’m so much happier on a deeper level. I’ve found ways to put more of myself into my songs, both lyrically and musically. I feel better about who I am and what I’m doing with my life. I’ll be going into the studio in January to make a new album.”
Edgar and her trio—Dawn Ellerbeck on upright bass and Jamie Duncan on electric guitar—currently have a residency at Little Hill Lounge, in El Cerrito, the first Sunday of every month.
“We’ve been gigging together a little over a year now, and playing with them feels exciting and inspiring,” Edgar says. “We enjoy being playful during shows. I book a different opening act every time. We do a mix of my originals, select covers by artists like Sierra Ferrell, Leonard Cohen and Connie Francis, and a couple of jazz standards.”
The Meredith Edgar Trio plays 8pm Sunday, Jan. 5, at Little Hill Lounge, 10753 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. littlehillelcerrito.com. Listen to Edgar at meredithedgarmusic.bandcamp.com.
