Boyd Meets Girl to Celebrate Album Release At GatherNYC

GatherNYC, the revolutionary weekly concert experience founded and directed by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, announces the duo's own album release performance and celebration as the fourth concert of its Spring 2022 season, held at the series' new home at Museum of Arts and Design.

The performance takes place Sunday, May 15 at 11am, and also features a brief spoken word performance by storyteller Kelli Dunham and a collective celebration of silence. The entire experience lasts one hour and evokes the community and spiritual nourishment of a religious service - but the religion is music, and all are welcome. Following this performance, the series will continue weekly on Sunday mornings through June 19.

Boyd and Metcalf, who comprise the duo Boyd Meets Girl, released their sophomore album, "Songs of Love & Despair" on the Grammy-winning label Sono Luminus in March 2022 to great critical acclaim (Gramophone hailed it as "beguiling...fascinating..enchanting"), and is touring a program of music from the album this Spring and Summer seasons, including appearances at Caramoor, Moab Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, Bargemusic, Metropolitan Museum of Art, numerous dates in Australia, and many others. The exciting mix of repertoire ranges from Debussy and Boccherini to the Beatles and Beyonce, and the album contains two world premieres by Paul Brantley and Marian Budos.

This is an album of love. But also of despair. And some things in between.

Largely conceived, arranged, rehearsed and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, Songs of Love & Despair contains the music that we were drawn to during this time -- a time of unprecedented stillness and solitude, traveling at most a few miles from our home for months on end. As a married couple we were fortunate to be able to play music together every day, and this collection of repertoire is half love, half longing; from the delicate beauty of Debussy and the joyousness of Boccherini, to the anguish of Messiaen and heartbreaking Appalachian folk songs, which tell the stories of love, life and loss.

The album is a testament to this time, and we welcome you to join us as we traverse the emotions that have enveloped us all. - Rupert Boyd, December 2021

Boyd Meets Girl pairs Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd with American cellist Laura Metcalf. The duo has toured the world sharing their eclectic mix of music from Debussy and Bach to Radiohead and Beyoncé, and their two studio albums have been streamed well over 2 million times on Spotify alone. Both acclaimed soloists in their own right, Boyd has been described as "truly evocative" by The Washington Post, and as "a player who deserves to be heard" by Classical Guitar Magazine, while Metcalf, also a member of the ensembles Break of Reality and The Overlook has been called "brilliant" by Gramophone. Boyd Meets Girl has toured throughout the USA, India, Nepal, New Zealand, and every state and territory in Australia, including engagements at Caramoor, Newport Music Festival, Bargemusic, Moab Music Festival and many others.

The duo's debut album, released in 2017 on the Grammy award-winning label Sono Luminus, reached #3 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart, and received the following praise in Gramophone: "They play like one, with a harmony of purpose as sure as their intonation." Their sophomore album, Songs of Love and Despair, released in 2022 was also praised in Gramophone as "Beguiling... fascinating... enchanting... their mutual understanding is manifest in every bar, not least the way they listen to each other." Their music is broadcast on radio stations around the world, including regularly on New York's WQXR and SiriusXM.

The duo arranges much of their repertoire themselves, drawing inspiration from artists across all genres, and often speak from the stage about the works to create an engaging, conversational concert experience that breaks down boundaries not only between musical genres but between audience and performer.

Artistic directors of the acclaimed Sunday morning concert series GatherNYC, and a happily married couple, the duo lives in New York City with their son Milo.