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Hilary Gardner

"...a sound and vibe that makes you think she's the secret love child of Peggy Lee and Tom Waits." -Midwest Record

About Me

Vocalist Hilary Gardner, described by The New Yorker as “a singer with a beguilingly subtle wit,” grew up a New Yorker at heart in the jazz hinterland of Alaska. Since moving to New York City in 2003, Gardner has released three albums as a leader; played Frank Sinatra’s vocal counterpart in Twyla Tharp’s hit Broadway production, Come Fly Away; and is a founding member of the close harmony trio Duchess, with whom she has released three full-length albums and a holiday EP, toured widely, and earned Vocal Group of the Year in the 2021 and 2022 JJA awards.

Gardner performed with Jeff Goldblum and his band on Goldblum’s opening night at Café Carlyle, prompting New York Magazine to call hers “a voice worth seeking out.” In the wake of her appearance with Goldblum, she was a guest on NPR’s Song Travels with Michael Feinstein. Gardner appeared as a jazz singer in Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris’s 2017 Netflix miniseries, Wormwood. DownBeat Magazine declared Gardner an “artist to watch” and named her a Rising Star Female Vocalist four years in a row.

With her newest release, On the Trail with The Lonesome Pines, Gardner returns to her rustic roots, delving into repertoire from the “singing cowboy” era of the 1930s-40s. Featuring Justin Poindexter (guitars, vocals); Noah Garabedian (bass); and Aaron Thurston (drums), the album evokes the expansiveness and romantic allure of the American West–replete with purple hills, silver stars, and the freedom to roam, unhurried and unworried, under endless western skies.