Biography
Grace Petrie from Leicester, England, champions both progressive ideals and romantic themes through her sincere yet sardonic folk songwriting, blending activist content with personal narratives across recordings that alternate between energetic ensemble performances propelled by violin and unadorned, solitary acoustic pieces.
Emerging in 1987 from a household aligned with leftist views, her first creative steps followed pop and rock directions while avoiding commentary on broader social concerns. That pattern held through a pair of independently distributed acoustic solo releases—Grace Petrie in 2006 and Feel Better in 2007—until the Conservative victory in the 2010 U.K. General Election prompted a shift; drawing on her recent role as a youth worker, Petrie began channeling her resistance into explicitly political material. The unambiguous stance of “Farewell to Welfare” resonated with Billy Bragg, who booked her for the Leftfield Stage at Glastonbury that summer. The appearance secured successive return slots at the festival over following years and positioned her as a frequent presence at left-leaning political gatherings. She finished 2010 with Tell Me a Story, her initial set of partisan songs, notable for its sharp focus and resolve.
In 2011 Petrie supported comedian Josie Long on a U.K. tour, then issued Mark My Words in December, her first project with multi-instrumentalist Caitlin Field, who would become a central collaborator. Love Is My Rebellion arrived in 2013 with a country inflection and marked the start of three albums in three years credited to Grace Petrie & the Benefits Culture; the lineup placed Field on bass alongside Jess Greengrass on drums, with all three members contributing vocals. The next year’s Live at St. Pancras Old Church documented a London performance augmented by violinist Hannah Morgan. Returning to the studio, 2015’s Whatever’s Left refined their folk-punk approach, while the 2016 EP There’s No Such Thing as a Protest Singer found Petrie working again in solo acoustic form under the Leicester imprint Robot Needs Home Collective. Heart First Aid Kit, released in June 2017, balanced political material with love songs and appeared under the wry name Grace Petrie & the PC Brigade; Field switched to drums, opening the bass chair for local singer-songwriter Siobhan Mazzei.
September 2018’s violin-saturated Queer as Folk stood among her most politically assertive releases; though it gave the impression of meticulous construction, the album largely preserved well-rehearsed pieces captured in single takes. It revisited “Farewell to Welfare” and introduced the deeply personal “Black Tie,” an anthemic, emotionally charged message of reassurance directed at her younger self that pushed back against the prejudice she had faced as a queer woman. The track became Petrie’s best-known song and her first to surpass one million streams.
Late in 2019 a new version of Whatever’s Left’s “If There’s a Fire in Your Heart,” recorded with Liam Jordan, Paula Wichall, and Ben Greenland, raised funds for Big Issue North. A March 2020 Australian tour with fiddle player Ben Moss ended prematurely with the arrival of COVID-19. Back in the U.K., Moss remained with Petrie for six months of lockdown, during which the pair recorded and posted numerous cover versions online, ultimately generating £11,000 for the Big Issue. Petrie resumed live performances in August 2021 with fresh material centered on human connection and solidarity. The resulting, collaborative Connectivity appeared that October, featuring Moss, Field, Jasmine Kennedy, and others, and became her first album to enter the U.K. chart. An extensive U.K. tour followed before Petrie paused music-making to develop a stand-up show. Blending comedy with personal narrative, Butch Ado About Nothing premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022 and further examined gender identity and sexuality, the same subjects underpinning “Black Tie.” She continued touring the show into late 2023 while readying material for her tenth studio album, Build Something Better. Retaining its violin-rich, full-band character, the record reached the Top 30 of the U.K. album chart.
Emerging in 1987 from a household aligned with leftist views, her first creative steps followed pop and rock directions while avoiding commentary on broader social concerns. That pattern held through a pair of independently distributed acoustic solo releases—Grace Petrie in 2006 and Feel Better in 2007—until the Conservative victory in the 2010 U.K. General Election prompted a shift; drawing on her recent role as a youth worker, Petrie began channeling her resistance into explicitly political material. The unambiguous stance of “Farewell to Welfare” resonated with Billy Bragg, who booked her for the Leftfield Stage at Glastonbury that summer. The appearance secured successive return slots at the festival over following years and positioned her as a frequent presence at left-leaning political gatherings. She finished 2010 with Tell Me a Story, her initial set of partisan songs, notable for its sharp focus and resolve.
In 2011 Petrie supported comedian Josie Long on a U.K. tour, then issued Mark My Words in December, her first project with multi-instrumentalist Caitlin Field, who would become a central collaborator. Love Is My Rebellion arrived in 2013 with a country inflection and marked the start of three albums in three years credited to Grace Petrie & the Benefits Culture; the lineup placed Field on bass alongside Jess Greengrass on drums, with all three members contributing vocals. The next year’s Live at St. Pancras Old Church documented a London performance augmented by violinist Hannah Morgan. Returning to the studio, 2015’s Whatever’s Left refined their folk-punk approach, while the 2016 EP There’s No Such Thing as a Protest Singer found Petrie working again in solo acoustic form under the Leicester imprint Robot Needs Home Collective. Heart First Aid Kit, released in June 2017, balanced political material with love songs and appeared under the wry name Grace Petrie & the PC Brigade; Field switched to drums, opening the bass chair for local singer-songwriter Siobhan Mazzei.
September 2018’s violin-saturated Queer as Folk stood among her most politically assertive releases; though it gave the impression of meticulous construction, the album largely preserved well-rehearsed pieces captured in single takes. It revisited “Farewell to Welfare” and introduced the deeply personal “Black Tie,” an anthemic, emotionally charged message of reassurance directed at her younger self that pushed back against the prejudice she had faced as a queer woman. The track became Petrie’s best-known song and her first to surpass one million streams.
Late in 2019 a new version of Whatever’s Left’s “If There’s a Fire in Your Heart,” recorded with Liam Jordan, Paula Wichall, and Ben Greenland, raised funds for Big Issue North. A March 2020 Australian tour with fiddle player Ben Moss ended prematurely with the arrival of COVID-19. Back in the U.K., Moss remained with Petrie for six months of lockdown, during which the pair recorded and posted numerous cover versions online, ultimately generating £11,000 for the Big Issue. Petrie resumed live performances in August 2021 with fresh material centered on human connection and solidarity. The resulting, collaborative Connectivity appeared that October, featuring Moss, Field, Jasmine Kennedy, and others, and became her first album to enter the U.K. chart. An extensive U.K. tour followed before Petrie paused music-making to develop a stand-up show. Blending comedy with personal narrative, Butch Ado About Nothing premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022 and further examined gender identity and sexuality, the same subjects underpinning “Black Tie.” She continued touring the show into late 2023 while readying material for her tenth studio album, Build Something Better. Retaining its violin-rich, full-band character, the record reached the Top 30 of the U.K. album chart.
Albums
Build Something Better
2024
Connectivity
2021
Queer as Folk
2018
Heart First Aid Kit
2017
There's No Such Thing As A Protest Singer
2016
Singles
