Chris Pureka is an American acoustic singer-songwriter from Northampton, Massachusetts. Raised in Connecticut, Pureka is said to have begun writing songs at the age of eight; by 16 she was playing the guitar. Following performances at local coffee houses and open mics, she began opening shows for such artists as Erin McKeown and Pamela Means while completing a degree in biology at Wesleyan University. After graduating, she worked in a microbiology research lab at Smith College in Northampton, e...
Chris Pureka is an American acoustic singer-songwriter from Northampton, Massachusetts.
Raised in Connecticut, Pureka is said to have begun writing songs at the age of eight; by 16 she was playing the guitar. Following performances at local coffee houses and open mics, she began opening shows for such artists as Erin McKeown and Pamela Means while completing a degree in biology at Wesleyan University. After graduating, she worked in a microbiology research lab at Smith College in Northampton, eventually leaving to focus on her music full-time. In June 2001, she recorded a self-titled seven-song EP in preparation for a three-month nationwide tour with lesbian folk poet Alix Olson.
In 2004, Pureka released Driving North, her first full-length album, earning rave reviews from fans and fellow artists alike. In 2006, she released Dryland, and toured the US a second time as a headlining act. In May 2007, Pureka was a member of the month-long New American Songwriter Tour in New York City, Philadelphia, and Massachusetts. The tour also featured Krystle Warren, Jesse Harris and Ryan Scott. In July 2007, Pureka's song, "Swann Song" won 1st Place in the Acoustic competition on the independent music site OurStage.com.
In October 2007, Pureka was nominated for 2007's Outstanding Folk Act by the Boston Music Awards. She was also awarded an ASCAPLUS award in the summer of 2007.
Pureka is the founder of her label, Sad Rabbit Music. As well as her own releases, she has lent her vocals and guitar playing to several tracks by artists like Olson and Arjuna Greist; a notable track is "Checking My Pulse" with Olson, which went on to become a relative hit for Olson.
Pureka identifies as genderqueer and cultivates an androgynous appearance. She has received positive reviews in the long-running radical feminist publication off our backs and other magazines. Pureka's music does not deal explicitly with LGBT issues, focusing instead on emotional interactions between individuals.
On January 20, 2009, Pureka released a fourth album, an EP entitled Chimera. In April 2010, Pureka released her fifth album, How I Learned To See In The Dark
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