Sasha Mercedes

Sasha Mercedes has been a touring solo artist for the past decade, having opened for the likes of Dar Williams, and Tracy Bonham, but is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Mercedes is a multi-instrumentalist and extaordinary song-writer. Blending the two comes naturally and the result is a catalog of songs that are both honest and inspiring. Mercedes' riveting live performances leave audiences on the edge of their seats, as she beats her guitar and belts out the words for which she feels so passionately.

In her own words...

"I was shaken from my mother's womb from the impact of a head-on collision on the back roads of northern MN one frigid winter's night. I grew up in a cabin in the woods with no running water, listening to Judy Garland records on my parents old turn table. When I wasn't being toted around the country in an old school bus my dad converted into a house on wheels, I was back stage with him as he performed with his rock band all through the 80's. Eventually he moved us into a trailer park in Bayfield, WI on Lake Superior. Luckily I've always known that the most rugged of shores make for the most polished of stones.

When I was a teenager a traveling theater company came to my high school, gave me a part in their musical and heard me singing one of my songs and decided to fund the production of a cd. I did a short-run Mid-Western tour and then went off to college.

I was playing with a psychedelic band based out of Stevens Point, WI when we all bought one way tickets to Prague, in search of fame and fortune... instead we got 9/11 and were all stuck with no flights going back into the States. When I did make it home, I moved out east and joined a bluegrass band, playing festivals and halls in and around Baltimore, MD as well as volunteering for the American Music and Arts Festival.

Later, I moved back to Bayfield and released 2 more albums of original work, having gained a multitude of material with the travels and experiences aforementioned- my music is a culmination of many genres and is a result of drawing on the different styles and elements I've been fortunate enough to have been exposed to.

Next I moved back overseas, this time to Skopje, Macedonia, where I taught music "school of rock" style to international students. It's been a wild ride!"

Since moving to the Twin Cities, Mercedes has released 2 full-length solo albums, "Temporary Monsters" and "Lucky" which was released in Sept 2012. Though she performs regionally, she has recieved accolades in Nashville, Santa Fe and Baltimore.