An in-studio performance, recorded live at Northfire Recording, in Amherst MA.  “Live at Northfire†comprises six Pamela Means original songs; mainly, pointed political indictments of racism, gun violence and injustice plaguing our society. Forty-plus minutes of raw, primal, focused, finessed grooves, in between delicate moments of (queer) love song reprieve, will send a listener adrift on a soulful journey, soothing and searing, yet, still, speaking truth to power. Authentic lyrics, tender to raging vocals, and fleet fretwork, are finely fleshed out with infectious conga beats, thick bass lines, and lush, signature, harmonies from bassist, Cinamon Blair, and, percussionist, I-SHEA.
Pamela Means is a Boston-based Out(spoken), Biracial, independent artist whose “kamikaze guitar style†and punchy provocative songs have worn a hole in two of her acoustic guitars. Armed with the razor wit of a stand-up comic, engaging presence, elegant poetry, and irresistible charm, Pamela Means’s “stark, defiant songs†(New York Times) set the status quo and the stage afire.
Pamela’s commitment to interrogating social ills was fostered by her unique childhood. “As the adopted daughter of a white mother and black father, I learned about dismantling systems of oppression from the inside out.†Pamela received her first guitar at the age of fourteen, just after her mother died of cancer, and it soon became Pamela’s primary vehicle for expression. It would also serve as a passport out of a life that consisted of poverty, foster homes, and the inner city life of hyper-segregated Milwaukee WI.
Pamela Means relocated to Boston, busked in the city subways and famed Harvard Square, founded her own record label and began touring. Pamela has performed on three continents and across the country, gaining fans and rave reviews from Anchorage to Amsterdam, Sydney to Stockholm, San Francisco to Honolulu to New York, breaking album sales records at national festivals and sharing stages with Pete Seeger, Neil Young, Shawn Colvin, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Gil-Scott Heron, Adrian Belew, Violent Femmes, Holly Near and more. Means has also been the recipient of several nominations and music awards in multiple categories.
Pamela Means “exhibits a rare emotional fire in today’s folk world,†(Seven Days, Burlington VT) so much so that Ani DiFranco exclaimed, “you’ve got such a deep, deep groove, I can’t get out. And, I wouldn’t want to.â€