bio
Portland, Maine performing songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill draws you into bluesy grooves, haunting ballads, and intricate folk-pop vignettes with her vocal jazz charm and powerful presence. Downeast Magazine calls her “one of Maine's most versatile troubadours.”
Raised in rural coastal Maine, Sorcha is equally at home performing in folk festivals, jazz clubs, intimate listening rooms, and on sailboats. A multi-instrumentalist, she incorporates acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, banjo, ukulele, fiddle, and drums into her compositions, recordings, and performances.
Sorcha has opened for Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner, folk music icon Tom Rush, and celebrated cellist/multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla, formerly of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (with collaborators Jo Sorrell on cello/vocals and pianist/electronic musician Kafari on rhythm bones.
Performance highlights include Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (Emerging Artist), historic Club Passim in Cambridge, MA and Caffé Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY, Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, ME, and The State Theatre in Portland, ME, where Sorcha sang two original songs with The Fogcutters, Maine’s contemporary nineteen piece big band.
An advocate of music engagement across the lifespan, Sorcha completed the Community Health Musician Certificate Program through Berklee School of Music (Music and Health Institute) to support her work singing with Older Adults and Memory Care Centers throughout Maine. She also partners with The Lullaby Project, a Carnegie Hall program that pairs new parents with musicians to write lullabies for their babies.
Sorcha’s original music is featured in two independent films: award-winning documentary LIGHT: a Documentary Film by Caroline Treadway (2021), and Merrymeeting Bay: The Rising Tide of Stewardship by Mark Ireland (2018). Her third studio album, Quiet (2016), was co-produced with Jeff Oehler of Beehive Productions. Sorcha’s new EP is forthcoming in 2026.
short bios
PARAGRAPH
Maine performing songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill draws you into bluesy grooves, haunting ballads, and intricate folk-pop vignettes with her vocal jazz charm and powerful presence. She has opened for Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner, folk music icon Tom Rush, and celebrated cellist/multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla. Downeast Magazine calls Sorcha “one of Maine's most versatile troubadours.”
SENTENCE
Maine performing songwriter Sorcha Cribben-Merrill draws you into bluesy grooves, haunting ballads, and intricate indie folk vignettes with her vocal jazz charm and powerful presence.
12 WORDS
Sorcha Cribben-Merrill writes stirring indie folk-pop songs featuring powerful jazz vocals.
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press quotes
“Sorcha displays some serious bravado . . . impressive range . . . she travels all over the musical spectrum and unveils a suite of musical styles that shows a wide-ranging songwriting ability delivered with an enjoyable and consistent aesthetic . . . witty verses and smart rhymes.”
— Portland Phoenix | Sam Pfeifle
“'Quiet' is a lovely record for a long, meditative drive . . . with her various duo and trio projects, Cribben-Merrill skews soulful, funky, and twangy, so it's refreshing to hear a record devoted to her tranquil side - it only underscores the crazy range of one of Maine's most versatile troubadours. And there's nothing quiet about that.”
— Downeast Magazine | Brian Kevin
“This hard-touring solo (sometimes duo) artist . . . with brilliant virtuosity . . . already slayed at the State Theatre last year, and now she’ll conquer our hearts again on a smaller stage that will surely highlight this musician’s dedication and unexpected vocal power.”
— Portland Press Herald | Aimsel Ponti
“That warm familiarity . . . like an incantation . . . Cribben-Merrill’s style is a recognizable pastiche of folk, blues, and acoustic pop balladeering (imagine Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam had a baby with Sarah McLachlan and then Tracy Chapman raised it).”
— Downeast Magazine | Brian Kevin