Biography
Born into a lineage of prominent singer-songwriters as the daughter of Suzzy Roche and Loudon Wainwright III, Lucy Wainwright Roche initially set her sights elsewhere before her own literate, introspective songcraft and plaintive yet commanding voice established an independent following. Her work centers on gently shaped contemporary folk that traces personal searches for belonging amid shifting relationships and emotional landscapes. The warmly melancholic character of her art emerges clearly across her debut solo album Lucy from 2010, the follow-up There's a Last Time for Everything issued in 2013, and the 2020 collaboration I Can Still Hear You, recorded alongside her mother Suzzy Roche.
Lucy Wainwright Roche entered the world in New York City's Greenwich Village on December 16, 1981. Her mother formed one-third of the sibling trio the Roches, while her father was the well-known performer Loudon Wainwright III. The pair separated when Lucy was two, after which contact with her father remained infrequent during childhood. Prior to his relationship with Suzzy Roche, Loudon Wainwright III had been married to Kate McGarrigle of the duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle, which positioned Lucy as half-sister to Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright. She spent her formative years in New York City, completed high school, pursued creative writing studies at Oberlin College, and later earned a master's degree in education from the Bank Street College of Education.
Although she began her professional life teaching elementary school for two years, an increasing commitment to songwriting and performance soon took precedence. After contributing backing vocals on tour with Rufus Wainwright, she committed fully to her own career, issuing the EP 8 Songs in 2007 and its successor 8 More the following year. Her first full-length release, Lucy, arrived in 2010 and featured appearances by Suzzy Roche along with her Roches bandmates Maggie Roche and Terre Roche, plus Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. In turn, Lucy supplied backing vocals for the Indigo Girls' 2011 album Beauty Queen Sister. Her second solo album, There's a Last Time for Everything, followed in 2013 with contributions from Mary Chapin Carpenter and Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. That same year she and Suzzy Roche issued the joint project Fairytale and Myth. The duo reconvened for Mud & Apples in 2016, while Lucy and Martha Wainwright released the lullaby collection Songs in the Dark under the name the Wainwright Sisters the same year. Lucy independently released the understated, reflective album Little Beast in 2018, and she and Suzzy Roche completed their third joint effort, I Can Still Hear You, in 2020.
Lucy Wainwright Roche entered the world in New York City's Greenwich Village on December 16, 1981. Her mother formed one-third of the sibling trio the Roches, while her father was the well-known performer Loudon Wainwright III. The pair separated when Lucy was two, after which contact with her father remained infrequent during childhood. Prior to his relationship with Suzzy Roche, Loudon Wainwright III had been married to Kate McGarrigle of the duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle, which positioned Lucy as half-sister to Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright. She spent her formative years in New York City, completed high school, pursued creative writing studies at Oberlin College, and later earned a master's degree in education from the Bank Street College of Education.
Although she began her professional life teaching elementary school for two years, an increasing commitment to songwriting and performance soon took precedence. After contributing backing vocals on tour with Rufus Wainwright, she committed fully to her own career, issuing the EP 8 Songs in 2007 and its successor 8 More the following year. Her first full-length release, Lucy, arrived in 2010 and featured appearances by Suzzy Roche along with her Roches bandmates Maggie Roche and Terre Roche, plus Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. In turn, Lucy supplied backing vocals for the Indigo Girls' 2011 album Beauty Queen Sister. Her second solo album, There's a Last Time for Everything, followed in 2013 with contributions from Mary Chapin Carpenter and Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. That same year she and Suzzy Roche issued the joint project Fairytale and Myth. The duo reconvened for Mud & Apples in 2016, while Lucy and Martha Wainwright released the lullaby collection Songs in the Dark under the name the Wainwright Sisters the same year. Lucy independently released the understated, reflective album Little Beast in 2018, and she and Suzzy Roche completed their third joint effort, I Can Still Hear You, in 2020.
Albums
Singles
