narrator
Erin McKeown was born October 15, 1977 in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They began writing and playing music at a young age. In the mid-1990s, they attended Brown University, where they began their music career, playing at coffeehouses in the Northeast and recording their first album. During their time at Brown, they took a year off to work at Ladyslipper Music. They began to tour with other artists near the end of their time in college and began a full-time music career right out of school. Erin moved to Western Massachusetts in 2001. They have performed at venues in Northampton including the Fire & Water Cafe and the Iron Horse. They are part of the Mary Vasquez Women’s Softball League. In 2025, Erin lives with their dog in the home they rent in Western Massachusetts. Their career is currently focused on their musical theater work.
abstract
In this interview, Erin McKeown reflects on their childhood and growing up and coming into their identity as a queer person in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They discuss the Northeast coffeehouse music scene, which they participated in while a student at Brown University in the 1990s, their relationship to their queer identity at the beginning of their music career from the 1990s to the early 2000s, and the importance of acknowledging rural spaces and communities for queer people. They also reflect on the music scene in Northampton, Massachusetts, including how it has changed from the 1990s to the present.