Known for impactful live performances and lifelong connections in the Austin music scene, Mandy Mercier died on Monday, March 27, on her 74th birthday. As an accomplished singer and instrumentalist, Mercier played shows with and in the bands of artists like Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams, Butch Hancock, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore in the generative Eighties Austin scene. In an excellent 2001 profile on Mercier, the Chronicle’s Margaret Moser wrote: “Singer, songwriter, guitarist, fiddler, lover, and free spirit wrapped up in one, Mandy Mercier is less a jack-of-all-trades than a force of nature.”: Growing up in Westport, Connecticut, Mercier studied classical piano and violin in school but also developed an interest in traditional blues artists like Mississippi John Hurt and began playing guitar. A residency at NYC’s Lone Star Cafe connected her to musicians from Austin, where she relocated in 1980 and was quickly embraced at Threadgill’s, Armadillo World Headquarters, and elsewhere. Friends will share memories on Sunday, with Brad Bobiskey, Lost John Casner, George Coyne, Dan Earhart, Beth Galiger, Don Ray Houdyshell, Lady Jake Jacobson, Elliott & Janice Rogers, and more on hand to perform. Giddy Ups also plans to show a video and photo montage in memory of Mercier.
Sun., May 14, 3pm