Boston, Massachusetts Folk and Americana Singer-Songwriter John Gerard Announces New Album, Threads
Boston based singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Gerard has released his new album Threads, a collection built around the ebb and flow of family life and the ties that shape who we become. Now available at johngerard.com, with the single “New England” leading the way, the record folds four decades of songwriting experience into ten songs of striking honesty.
Born in Paris, France and raised in Massachusetts, Gerard has spent his career writing from the corners of everyday life, the “moments that slip through the cracks,” as he describes them. His music has earned reviews in Metronome Magazine, a feature in The Boston Globe, the documentary “Subway Serenade,” and an opening slot for Lori McKenna at Club Passim. These days he splits his time between busking through the Boston subway and Cambridge, where his songwriting first took root, and playing intimate listening rooms, house concerts, and coffee shops across New England.
Threads carries a deeply personal weight. “I found myself battling addiction early in adulthood,” Gerard says. “Through a recovery program, I found the support and guidance I needed to rebuild my life. Along that journey, I met countless others whose stories and family experiences echoed my own.” That collision of his own upbringing and the stories he encountered in recovery became the record’s foundation, a reminder, in his words, that anyone struggling is not alone.
“New England” sets the tone, a letter set to melody about leaving home and everything that home holds. “Maybe it’s time for me to move on, leave Boston skies for LA’s sun,” Gerard sings, before landing on the album’s emotional core, “New England fall I miss the most, the look on your face when the leaves turn to gold.” It is a small, specific image that opens onto something much larger about family, memory, and the pull of the place we come from.
Gerard’s melodic guitar work and unique chord progressions have long been a hallmark of his sound, holding listeners in anticipation as his songs move through reflection and vulnerability. With ‘Threads,’ he continues building his audience city by city and stage by stage, carrying his songs from the subway platforms of Boston to listening rooms across the region.
Hi, John! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Thank you so much for this opportunity! My name is John Gerard, and I am a Folk/Americana singer/songwriter. I was born in Paris, France and my family moved to the US when I was 9 years old and planted roots in Westborough Massachusetts. I was awful at sports growing up so I turned to music as a pastime at the age of 11. Guitar quickly became a passion of mine and I started my first band at age 14. The band was my focus until I was 30, at which time I struck out on my own with my acoustic guitar and have been solo ever since.
You’ve spoken openly about addiction and recovery. At what point did you realize those experiences weren’t just something you’d survived, but something that could deepen your songwriting?
As sober time increased, I leaned more and more on songwriting as a means of coping and healing. As a working musician with no health insurance at the time, formal treatment was just not an option. Songwriting became an outlet for processing life events and “letting go” of things that got in the way of healing. Many of my earlier songs that incorporate difficult topics have a fairly dark edge to them; and through the years, as my recovery progressed, so did my writing and there is a more hopeful, light edge. I guess there really wasn’t a particular realization, but rather a progression of healing that shows in the evolution of my lyrical content.
“New England” captures the tension between leaving home and never really leaving it behind. Do you think home is ultimately a place, a group of people, or something we carry with us?
I think home is a little of all three! As the saying goes, “home is where the heart is” and if that’s with certain people, places or things… then that’s home. New England is a bittersweet song, and I think that its always hard to leave what you know and start anew. This theme has been on replay within my life ever since I can remember. I have story after story of trying on new endeavors, relationships, jobs, etc. and the one thing I’ve always come back to is music, which ultimately is my “home”.
You’ve played everything from subway platforms to listening rooms. Has there ever been an unexpected audience or performance that reminded you why you wanted to make music in the first place?
YES!! I remember getting a message on a social platform from a person who took the train every day to work. He told me that they have been living the same mundane commute to work every day for the last 10 years; and he thanked me for turning his mornings in to a “symphony”. This was pretty meaningful for me, especially being faced with the Subway where some days I would wonder, “is anybody listening?”. At the end of the day, this message answered that question and on my toughest day, when there doesn’t seem to be anyone listening, I remind myself that you just never know who you’re reaching.
If someone struggling with addiction, family challenges, or simply feeling disconnected hears ‘Threads,’ what conversation do you hope the album starts after the music ends?
What a great question! Well, ultimately, I hope they recognize that they are not alone. Its easy to feel isolated and disconnected when there is struggle; this often leads to silence. My wife has always told me that healing happens when we have a voice. Maybe if someone connects with what I am giving voice to, it will give them permission also speak their truth and foster the healing.
Upcoming Shows:
Aug 8, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Silver Creek Acres, Lempster, NH
Aug 27, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM, Winchendon History and Cultural Museum, Winchendon, MA
Aug 30, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Apex Orchards, Shelburne Falls, MA
Aug 31, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Branch and Blade, Keene, NH