A multi-instrumentalist and artist based in Salt Lake City and originally from the greater Boston area, Melissa grew up with an early proclivity for entertaining. Dancing, singing, and writing shaped her adolescence and her love of playing music became her full time profession several years ago.

Melissa’s seemingly incongruent professional experiences shape her artistry. She has a Masters of Soil Science and spent nearly a decade working on farms and in conservation science positions across the country. She has rock climbed extensively in the US and abroad, bikepacks through the mountains and desert, and ties her deep relationship with the environment to her music. Her background in science and a fiery nature from adventuring build her musicianship on endless curiosity and a desire to break expectations as a woman in the industry.

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Since becoming a full time musician, she has made a name for herself performing on professional stages, recording and writing albums, traveling and making relationships with music professionals across the country, building community, and honing her skills as a music educator. She plays in many local Utah bands including Pompe n Honey, Josie O and the Big Six, the Elderblossoms, makes cameos as a vocalist in Hot House West’s Swing Orchestra and on the banjo with Pixie and the Partygrass Boys, along with performing solo. Since 2023, she has recorded and released three records of original music and collaborated on numerous others. She develops and directs the Trash Moon Collective, a program of Hot House West 501(c)(3) that supports local acoustic musicians of all ability levels to learn and thrive. She has been a staple part time employee and banjo expert at Acoustic Music in SLC, the local hub for all things acoustic since 1973, and teaches clawhammer and 3-finger banjo out of her home in Salt Lake City.