About Andrea Gibson
Artist Biography
An American touring poet and social activist, Andrea Gibson began performing at open mikes in 1999 and debuted with the poetry album Bullets and Windchimes in 2003. Recognized for a passionate delivery and material that addresses social ills and gender constructs, among many other subjects (Gibson identifies as genderqueer), Gibson quickly built a reputation on the spoken word scene with articulate live recitations and recordings. The BBC documentary Slam Planet featured Gibson in 2006, and Gibson won the inaugural Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2008. That same year, Write Bloody Publishing issued Gibson's first written collection of poetry, Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns. In 2013, the writer/performer co-founded Stay Here with Me, an online community dedicated to suicide prevention, and in 2017, Gibson's seventh album and label debut, Hey Galaxy, reached the Top Five of Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart.
Gibson grew up in Calais, Maine and later attended Saint Joseph's College of Maine in Standish. After some time in New Orleans, Gibson relocated to Boulder, Colorado in 1999. Later that year, the then-novice's first open mike took place in Denver. A few years of regularly performing and competing in poetry slams culminated in the self-released album Bullets and Windchimes in 2003. Swarm followed in 2004, with third LP When the Bough Breaks arriving in 2006. That same year, Gibson appeared in a BBC documentary called Slam Planet. In 2008, Gibson won the first Women of the World Poetry Slam in Detroit, Michigan and published a book of poetry for the first time; Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns arrived via Write Bloody Publishing. The spoken word albums Yellowbird and Flower Boy followed in 2009 and 2011, respectively, before second book The Madness Vase saw release in 2012. In the meantime, Gibson continued to tour, performing over 100 shows per year.
Sixth LP Truce came out in 2013, and two years later, Gibson's third book of poetry, Pansy, was published, again by Write Bloody. After opening shows for feminist folk icon Ani DiFranco in 2017, Gibson's record-label debut, Hey Galaxy, was released by Tender Loving Empire in early 2018. It debuted at number five on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. Also issued in early 2018, this time by Plume, the poetry collection Take Me with You featured illustrations by Sarah J. Gibson. ~ Marcy Donelson
Hometown
United States of America
Genre
Spoken Word
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