It Doesn’t Matter Where: Consummate Live Performer Ingrid Michaelson

By Sean Thorfinnson
Contributing Writer

If you could describe the singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson in one word, it would be “purist.” She is all about the music. That’s how it’s been for
Ingrid, ever since the Staten Island indie-pop artist was discovered on MySpace four years ago.
“This company that puts songs on TV and commercials found me online and asked if I wanted to work with them.” So that’s how it all started.
Since then, Ingrid has kept true to her music, and probably always will.

“This way I retain all ownership of the masters and I’m at the center of the decision making,” she replied, when asked what is stopping her from signing on with a major label company. It only makes sense. The fans that really know Ingrid wouldn’t expect anything less.

Music may be the priority in her life right now, but it wasn’t always. Ingrid was a children’s theater teacher before pursuing her career in the music industry. “It was hard for me to leave, but I figured if I don’t do music now, I would probably lose my opportunity,” Ingrid comments.

It’s a good thing she took the opportunity when she did. Ever since the 2007 release of her album titled “Girls and Boys”, Ingrid Michaelson has just been picking up steam. Her songs have been featured in various T.V. shows and commercial spots, most notably the hit drama “Grey’s Anatomy”, which propelled Ingrid into the mainstream.

Ingrid continues to pump out albums, and with three albums in the last three years, she has had a lot on her plate. That doesn’t stop her from connecting with her fans, though. She has been known to be very active with Twitter and most recently held a fan-submitted music video contest. “The video contest was just a way to get people feeling like they are a part of the project, of promoting the video,” she says. “It was really sweet to see everyone’s interpretation. It was very charming to me.”

Speaking of interpretations, Ingrid remarked how her music sometimes might elude her listeners as to what she is really singing about. “I think a lot of the time my fans think that my songs are really happy because they have a happy melody or upbeat production, but the lyrics themselves are kind of dreary and sad,” Ingrid says with a subtle laugh. “I always find it a little funny when people tell me ‘Oh, I love that one song it puts me in such a good mood, it makes me so happy,’ and I know that it wasn’t really from a happy place.”

That doesn’t mean you have to listen to Ingrid’s music the way she might have intended, though. “People listen to music and absorb it and hear it the way they need to, so that’s why it’s so cool,” she says.

Ingrid Michaelson might be all about the music, but she certainly knows how to have fun on stage and put on a good show. “Some things happen naturally in sound check and stuff and if it’s funny, I am always game to add it to the set list,” she says.

I, for one, can say out of experience, that that is most certainly true. She really connects with her fans while on stage. “It doesn’t really matter where you are,” she says when asked about her favorite venue to perform in. “If the audience is really into it, it will make the show really great.”

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If You Go

What: Ingrid Michaelson
Where: Fargo Theatre
When: Sun, July 11, 8pm
Info: 701.205.3182