Grace Petrie

This show has been moved to the new Hugh's Room Live at 296 Broadview Avenue (just south of Gerrard Street East.)

Show at 8pm, Doors at 7pm
$30 in advance, $35 at the door

"She writes the sort of songs you want to pin the lyrics of on your bedroom wall, or on the office door, to remind you and everyone else who might read them what is important and true" - Buzz Magazine

"A millennial’s Billy Bragg" - Songlines

More than a decade after first emerging, protest singer, LGBTQ+ activist, comedy audiences favourite and folk star Grace Petrie stands out as one the most important songwriters working in the UK today.

Exploding onto the folk scene in 2010 with the low-fi acoustic guitar/vocal release Tell Me a Story, Petrie quickly attracted attention with her polemical folk anthems, acerbic lyricism and open-hearted performance style. Support slots for the likes of Billy Bragg and Emmy The Great soon followed, with The Guardian declaring her “a powerful new songwriting voice”. 

The 2010s were spent relentlessly touring and, responding to the evermore dramatic political landscape. Petrie released five DIY albums of protest music in seven years. As a support act for similarly subversive voices in stand-up, including Robin Ince, Josie Long and Jeremy Hardy among many others, Petrie became just as celebrated in comedy as in music, honing a stage presence characterised by wit and warmth that sits beautifully in both worlds. 

It was the 2018 release of the album Queer As Folk which catapulted Petrie from cult status to mainstream attention. Both in production and songwriting, the record was a clear graduation, with rave reviews across the press calling it, "probably the most intelligently crafted album you’ll hear this year" (R2) and commenting, "she’s the urgent, pulsing, compassionate talent this world desperately needs" (The Observer). 

2023 sees her concentrate on international touring and festival dates, including tours to Australia and New Zealand in January and March, Edmonton Folk Festival and further dates in Canada in September, and select UK and European festivals in the summer. 

"An effervescent charm-bomb of a performer" - The New Yorker

"The musical soul of her generation’"- Huffington Post

"Just when you thought that what folk music needs right now is a strident, left-wing female causing a bit of carnage, here’s Grace Petrie.****" - Mojo

"With a stand-up’s wit and defiant but cautiously optimistic lyrics, her set prompted tears, fury and joy from this reviewer." - Songlines

 

296 Broadview is not yet a fully wheelchair accessible venue, with stairs between all levels. Our goal is to fix that, and we need your support to do so - please consider making a donation towards our goals to make HRL the best listening room in Toronto!