Music Showcase and Craft Beer Tasting
in partnership with Democracy Brewing
Cover fee includes three beers

Join us for the Athenaeum’s first music showcase, an event that hearkens to the institution’s longstanding tradition of supporting and exhibiting the talents of Boston-based artists and musicians for the enrichment of the broader community. The evening will feature some of Boston’s best up-and-coming talent on the music scene in three fifteen-minute sets by three different artists whose styles range from folk to classical to opera and back again—all interspersed with craft beer from Democracy Brewing.

The night will kick-off with Grace Givertz, an indie-folk artist and mighty one-woman-band who juggles guitar, banjo, ukulele, harmonica, and foot tambourine. Tara Deieso Merck, graduate of the competitive Opera Institute at Boston University—where she played such roles as Susannah in Mozart’s the Marriage of Figaro (2017)—follows with a voice that soars both high and low. Lastly, classically-trained violinist and performer with the Boston Ballet, Josh Knowles, will share his latest compositions that strive to fuse his traditional background with contemporary styles.

Tara Deieso Merck holds a bachelor of music degree from Boston University. She also received a master of music degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. During her time there, she performed the role of First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Deieso Merck was a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center where she sang the role of Lola in Robert Aldridge’s Sister Carrie. Most recently, Deieso Merck completed her artist diploma at the Boston University Opera Institute, where her roles included Elton John’s Trainer in David Little’s Vinkensport, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Soprano in Hydrogen Jukebox and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. In February of 2019, Deieso Merck will perform the role of Evelyn Nesbit in Wheelock Family Theater’s production of Ragtime.

Grace Givertz is a Boston based indie-folk singer and songwriter. Givertz pairs witty and honest lyrics with various instruments to bring a refreshing sound to folk. In 2018 alone, Boston Hassle gave rave reviews to Givertz’s first released album, The Light, and Dig Boston rated Givertz one of the top 15 rising musicians to watch.

Josh Knowles is a violinist, singer-songwriter, and composer based in Boston. An alumni of Berklee College of Music, he brings an eclectic array of influences to his work. Knowles has trained from the age of four as a classical violinist and he seeks to combine this traditional form with a myriad of musical styles. He is currently serving as Community Luminary at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where he performed his newly released album, Spin Without a Sound, in its entirety. Knowles had the honor for performing for President Obama at the Kennedy Center in 2017, and he has also appeared on stage as a soloist with the Boston Ballet and at the Lincoln Center in New York. In addition to solo work, Knowles’s indie-rock band, Nemes, was nominated for both the Boston Music Award for Best Live Act and for the New England Music Award for Best in State.

Democracy Brewing is a new co-op brewery located on Temple Place in downtown Boston. All beers are brewed in-house and include a fantastic selection of standard and seasonal drafts. In addition to beer, Democracy Brewing serves up a sumptuous tasting menu that pairs perfectly with its craft brews. Worker-owned and committed to community, Democracy Brewing is more than a brewery—it is a meeting place with the atmosphere and camaraderie of a neighborhood bar infused with the democratic spirit of a vibrant community center.

Art has long been a means for people of various backgrounds and cultures to come together to collaborate on ideas and experiences. Love, Graham Nash is a collection of photographs of Nash’s friends, family and fellow musicians are paired with original lyrics for 17 of his songs, that reproduced as facsimiles of their original state.