The Scarlet and Black
Volume 118, Number 4 | September 28, 2001

Abi Tapia returns to town
Recent grad shares her music in an intimate show

By Sabrina Ross
Staff Writer

"House performances are my favorite, " Abi Tapia said to someone while chatting with audience members before the show started. A Grinnell alumni of 1998, Abi Tapia was back in Grinnell for a two-set performance in a friend's apartment on Wednesday night. This is her third house performance she's done in the three weeks of her tour so far. With candles scattered around the room for lighting, and several couches, two chairs, a bed and the floor providing the seating, the audience was prepared for a friendly, intimate show. The show play list included songs from her cd, This Life Will Be Mine, covers of Gillian Welch and Patti Griffin, and one of the songs from the country musical that she's in the process of writing.

Tapia currently lives in Maine, but she plans to move in the near future. "I want a bigger place, and I want to be around more musicians, for inspiration, and for community," explained Tapia. She's considering cities like New York, Boston, and Austin, where she hopes to be able to fully support herself by profits made from performing. When she's not touring, Tapia says that she "waits tables to play the bills."

Currently, Tapia is in the midst of her longest tour so far in her career, covering parts of the east coast, the Midwest, and the south. After a few more shows in Iowa, Tapia will be heading to Texas for the next leg of her tour.

Tapia began singing during 1996, her sophomore year here at Grinnell, and by her senior year, Tapia started taking off during her fall and spring breaks to tour. Today she plays mostly within her home state of Maine, and frequently goes on short tours around New England. "Right now I'm plugging away, writing songs, finding better venues…I'm not looking for a record contract or anything," Tapia said. Following the completion of her current tour, Tapia will attend a music conference in Nashville before returning home.

Many Grinnell students hope to make Tapia's visits to campus a yearly occasion.

A few townspeople and professors as well as students attended Wednesday's performance. Before the show began, Tapia's academic advisor from Grinnell, Kent McClelland, approached her and asked "You're doing what you've dreamed of doing?" and Tapia replied, smiling, "Exactly!"