Electronic press kit
PHOTOS
BIO
New England Music Award-nominated Boston-based band Ruby Grove (2023- now) is a six-piece indie alternative musical project rooted in an indie rock feel and inspired by a wide variety of indie and alternative rock, psychedelic rock, trip-hop, soul, indietronica, and jazz-fusion influences. Focused on creating an alternately funky, soulful, and mystical atmosphere, the band delights in playing with combining genre in each of their songs. Ken Sears of Boston music magazine If It’s Too Loud said of Ruby Grove, “Nothing else in the city [of Boston] sounds anything like Ruby Grove… almost impossibly infectious.”
Lead singer and keyboardist Melissa Nilles brings a wide-ranging musical background to Ruby Grove from years of fronting indie bands in New York, California, Japan, and Massachusetts (including Boston’s notable and eclectic art/alternative rock project Miele), as well as singing and bellydancing with middle eastern music and dance troupes. Nilles’s unique vocal style was first described by the Boston Survival Guide as “travelling effortlessly through many moods- forceful and determined, melancholy and dreamy, exotic and magical”. Bassist, session guitarist, and backup vocalist Cedric Lamour hails from previous projects Miele and Teardrop Tank, and brings a masterful, lively rhythm bass to the band. Ruby Grove also includes drummer Travis Rowland Jr., flutist Meredith Blankenship, and saxophonist Gabe Stillman.
MUSIC SAMPLEs
PERFORMANCe VIDEO SaMPLES
Ruby Grove performs their songs “Emerald Daze”, “Echo”, and “Wild Symphony/Desert Song” with the band’s 2025 4-piece lineup at Model Peril Studios (high quality audio).
Ruby Grove performs their funk/soul/reggae/rock song “Stopping Point” live with their 2026 six-piece lineup at the Jungle in Boston, MA (slightly better than phone quality audio).
Ruby Grove performs their psychedelic funk/soul rock song "Emerald Daze" with their 2024 four-piece lineup at The Jungle Community Music Club in September 2024 (phone quality audio).
Ruby Grove performs their yet unreleased psychedelic rock song “Cut The Cord” with six-piece lineup (including flute and saxophone) in 2026 at The Jungle in Boston, MA (slightly better than phone quality audio).
Press
““Boston has a varied musical sound, but nothing else in the city sounds anything like Ruby Grove... almost impossibly infectious. “Maybe It’s Time” has this laid back lo-fi trip hop groove intermingled with hip hop, R&B, and indie rock. It’s a distinct and new sound that feels warmly familiar, but defies any true categorization... Ruby Grove are the 2023 version of repurposing old sounds into something brand new and fresh. I’m willing to bet you’re going to be hearing about them around here a lot.””
““A bit Sade-ish… Ruby Grove matches the silky smooth with glitchy beats, creaks, and guitar growls. And “Maybe It’s Time” is a wonderful reminder that rock can absorb so much and keep on rolling. This hypnotic track synthesizes trip hop, electro, lounge jazz, neo-soul, goth, and more into a fabulous fever dream. All of it made more trippy, catchy, witchy by Melissa Nilles’ call of, “Maybe it’s time/Get rid of those nightmares/Takin’ up your time/Everything is within reach…Everything.””
““You find yourself getting pulled away from your surroundings and put into this different place altogether, but I think that’s part of the point of the song... a mystical journey that has a way of staying with you long after you’ve listened to it.””
““Nilles’ vocals travel effortlessly through their many moods... forceful and determined, melancholy and dreamy, exotic and magical. It is one wild ride through the ebbs and flows of human experience.””
““Ruby Grove catches that slinky, smooth, clubby fire in their latest single “Maybe It’s Time.” Steady percussion with a faint industrial flavor, a commanding bass line, and vocals that are a little bit 1920’s jazz dancehall and a little bit séance. It’s music for vamping in the mirror while getting dressed for a very late night out…””
““[Ruby Grove’s] epic evolution from then until now is nothing short of astonishing with a new song on the horizon that could already be the defining sound of this young band.
While “Maybe It’s Time” dwelled in a lo-fi trip-hop meets groove and soul area, “Crystal Land” breaks new ground entirely with a gargantuan sound that’s still Ruby Grove at its core. Just more... an intricate musical web... a synthetic symphony that barely contains the vocal range [Nilles] brings on this outing.””
““It’s hard not to appreciate the many changing voices of Nilles as she acrobatically delivers searing vocals...””
“Sounding nothing quite like anyone else in Boston... their latest single shows a band truly discovering themselves, and it’s a magnificent sound. “Crystal Land” is this amazing mixture of artists like St. Vincent and Siouxsie & The Banshees, albeit a little more pop than those artists. Ruby Grove have always mixed pop with indie rock, soul, and whatever other sounds they felt like, but “Crystal Land” is just different. It’s beautiful and upbeat at some parts, and at others darker and more sinister... partially because of the John Carpenter-esque synths and also from singer Melissa Nilles’ intense vocals. We’ve been fans of Ruby Grove for a while now, and “Crystal Land” just amplifies that fandom exponentially. ”
““Nilles’ lyrics... are fast and slow at the same time, dark but hopeful, resonant but something of a riddle.””
““Ruby Grove’s new single is an imaginative mix of pop and psych indie, fused with blues undertones and savvy musicianship... a super catchy “la la dee da” jingle delivered with a bluesy flare and a feel reminiscent of Portugal. The Man’s “Woodstock” album. “Maybe It’s Time” is a fresh record that positively oozes with deep relaxation and summertime vibes—a self-dubbed anti-anxiety anthem.””
PRIOR FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:
SALEM LGBTQ+ PRIDE FESTIVAL (SALEM, MA)
ROCK AND ROLL RUMBLE (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
BOSTON LOCAL MUSIC FEST (BOSTON, MA)
SOMERSTREETS MONSTER MASH FESTIVAL (SOMERVILLE, MA)
SAM ADAMS OKTOBERFEST (BOSTON, MA)
SOMERVILLE PORCHFEST (SOMERVILLE, MA)
JP PORCHFEST (BOSTON, MA)
ROSLINDALE PORCHFEST (BOSTON, MA)
PARK SOUNDS FESTIVAL (BOSTON, MA)
MAKE MUSIC HARVARD SQUARE/FETE DE MUSIQUE (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
EMF FEST (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
SELECTION OF PRIOR VENUES PLAYED:
PIANOS (NEW YORK, NY)
POPPED.NYC CBD LOUNGE (NEW YORK, NY)
THE BOWERY ELECTRIC (NEW YORK, NY)
BROOKLYN MUSIC KITCHEN (BROOKLYN, NY)
GOWANUS DREDGERS CANOE CLUB (BROOKLYN, NY)
LOW DIVE (ASBURY PARK, NJ)
33 GOLDEN ST (NEW LONDON, CT)
THE TIN CAN (PHILADELPHIA, PA)
BROKEN GOBLET BREWING (BENSALEM, PA)
ALCHEMY (PROVIDENCE, RI)
MAYDAY (PROVIDENCE, RI)
AUBURN PITTS (AUBURN, NH)
GULU GULU CAFE (SALEM, MA)
MERCY TAVERN (SALEM, MA)
HOTEL VERNON (WORCESTER, MA)
JOHN HARVARD’S BREWERY (HANCOCK, MA)
THE OVERLOOK AT MILL NO 5 (LOWELL, MA)
THE TURING TAVERN- ONGOING MONTHLY RESIDENCY IN 2024 and 2025 (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE RED HOUSE- MONTHLY RESIDENCY IN SPRING AND SUMMER 2024 (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE MIDDLE EAST- UPSTAIRS (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE LIZARD LOUNGE (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE LILYPAD (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
TOAD (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
ATWOOD’S (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE PLOUGH AND STARS (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
CHARLIE’S KITCHEN (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE CANTAB LOUNGE (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
STATE PARK (CAMBRIDGE, MA)
THE JUNGLE COMMUNITY MUSIC CLUB (SOMERVILLE, MA)
THE BURREN (SOMERVILLE, MA)
PINK NOISE (SOMERVILLE, MA)
SALLY O’BRIENS (SOMERVILLE, MA)
ONCE LOUNGE (SOMERVILLE, MA)
PA’S LOUNGE/UNION TAVERN (SOMERVILLE, MA)
AERONAUT SOMERVILLE (SOMERVILLE, MA)
WAREHOUSE XI (SOMERVILLE, MA)
SILHOUETTE LOUNGE (BOSTON, MA)
TRES GATOS (BOSTON, MA)
THE HARD ROCK CAFE (BOSTON, MA)
AERONAUT ALLSTON (BOSTON, MA)
MCGANN’S (BOSTON, MA)
MIDWAY CAFE (BOSTON, MA)
HENNESSEY’S (BOSTON, MA)
O’BRIENS (BOSTON, MA)
FLYING EMBERS (BOSTON, MA)
SAM ADAMS BREWERY (BOSTON, MA)
DORCHESTER BREWING CO (BOSTON, MA)
COPPERFIELD’S (BOSTON, MA)
THE SQUARE ROOT (BOSTON, MA)
WE ARE ALSO A REGULAR FEATURED ARTIST AT SOFAR SOUNDS SHOWS IN BOSTON AND NEW YORK.
We even played at the legendary TT the Bears in Cambridge! (back when Melissa and Cedric were in Miele)
(and many, many FUN little house/rooftop shows in Boston, Allston, Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, and Brooklyn)
FOR BOOKING, CONTACT:
Melissa Nilles, Band Manager
rubygroveband@gmail.com.
THANKS FOR READING ALL OF THIS! WE APPRECIATE YOU AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
LET'S CREATE A SPECIAL EVENT TOGETHER.