Work samples

  • The Gold Night Excerpt: Ballad of the Scales

    Recorded October 20, 2023 in Baltimore, MD. Lyrics by Abby Becker. Music by Abby Becker and Jessica Keyes. Arranged by Jessica Keyes and the Oh Sorries. 

    Songs:

  • Were You Even Real - Trucker Talk

    Dreams and Nightmares is a debut EP chronicling the story of a single night's sleep.  Were You Even Real is the final track, originally conceived by Rich Kolm and developed and arranged collectively by the band. I play violin and sing on this track, which is partly improvised and partly composed.

    Available for Purchase
  • The Feast: Short Film

    The Feast is a stop motion animated short film, produced as part of Baltimore Rock Opera Society's Six Pack Puppet Feature. I served as Music Director, wrote and performed the score for this film with Patrick McMinn. Release date: Jan. 22, 2021. The Feast continues to be selected for film festivals and was honored with a Juror Citation at the 2021 Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival. Credits: Music composed by Abby Becker with Patrick McMinn. Lyrics by Abby Becker. Abby Becker on Guitar, Violin, Backing Vocals, Chord Organ, Dreadful Autoharp, 808 Drum Machine.

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About Abby

Baltimore City  

Baltimore singer/songwriter, producer, poet, & multi-instrumentalist Abby Becker’s projects range from indie rock to cinematic chamber to avant garde theatrics. She credits her musical adventures to a diverse and unique musical childhood, one informed by the square dances and old-time music of her native West Virginia, her father’s professional experience with both Debussy and Chicago Blues, and her upbringing in community theater, including the… more

View Abby's Resume
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The Gold Night

The Gold Night is an original, feature-length rock opera which debuted in September 2023. Co-written by John Bennett, Jessica Keyes, and myself it is the story of an unlikely band of dreamers and schemers who face the wrath of nature in the darkness of the Canadian Gold Rush. I was part of the original creative team that wrote the show, which was produced by 100+ artists and volunteers. Credits:

Creative Team

  • I was part of the three member writing team that conceptualized the show, characters, plot, motivation, and story arc. The script was written by John Bennett.


Lyricist and Co-Composer

  • I wrote the lyrics for ten songs, ranging in style from traditional/old-time music, pop, Baltimore club, jazz, and art rock. Each song had a specific motivation and was written to enrich the emotional arc of the story. I co-wrote the music with Jessica Keyes, who then composed the arrangements. We were committed to creating memorable songs, 'ear worms,' that the audience would keep singing after the show was over.

Vocal Director

  • I worked with the cast on styling, vocal technique, harmonies, performance, and breathing. I created reference demos for singers. 

Band Member

  • Violin, XL Triangle
  • Ballad of the Scales

    Ballad of the Scales was written in the style of a murder ballad. It's my interpretation of the true story of the Palm Sunday Avalanche, which took place on April 3, 1898, between Sheep Camp and the Scales on the Chilkoot Trail. While many were saved, a reported 65 lives were lost. The song features vocals by the incredible Nate Daley.

  • The Mouth of the Worm Part II: In Lightness in Darkness

    This is the fight song for the show, inspired by Eye of the Tiger. The chorus contains the core message of the show:

    You gotta get stronger
    get yourself together
    standing side by side
    no matter the darkness

    'cause we are more than a raving mass
    we are the working class
    in lightness in darkness
    we'll make it through the night
     

     

  • Phoenix Hotel (Song)

    'Phoenix Hotel' rehearsal demo with vocals by Angela Whitaker

  • The Gold Night - Maryland Theatre Guide Review

    " This play is so delightfully rough-hewn and glittery, a true visual and aural masterpiece, carefully carved into existence by some of the most creative minds in Baltimore..."The music, also by Keyes with Abby Becker, is phenomenal." - Emily Hofstaedteron 
  • The Gold Night Libretto

    This document contains the lyrics I wrote for all of the songs in The Gold Night. I did a great deal of reading and historical research, and the lyrics contain allusions to real events (like the Palm Sunday Avalanche) and references to 1890's mining life mixed in with more contemporary themes. I drew inspiration from my upbringing in coal country Appalachia as well as more modern musical references like the Talking Heads, Baltimore Club, Sondheim, Rihanna at the Superbowl.. 
  • The Gold Night Livestream

    Recorded October 20, 2023 in Baltimore, MD. Lyrics by Abby Becker. Music by Abby Becker and Jessica Keyes. Arranged by Jessica Keyes and the Oh Sorries. 

    Songs:

    • 00:00 - Intro
    • 06:50 - Gold or Bust
    • 17:59 - Dear Father
    • 27:28 - Hotel Reveal (underscoring)
    • 36:26 - The Phoenix Hotel
    • 45:58 - Yukon Night
    • 1:03:00 - The Future is Sousa (instrumental)
    • 1:04:24 - The Future is Future
    • 1:16:40 - Party time (instrumental)
    • 1:30:47 - Worship Me
    • 1:40:55 - Worm Attack 1 (instrumental)
    • 1:44:43 - Ballad of the Scales
    • 2:00:00 - Mouth of the Worm, Part 1
    • 2:03:06 - Mouth of the Worm, Part 2
    • 2:06:10 - Worm Attack 2 (instrumental)
    • 2:09:00 - From the Ashes
    • 2:13:13 - Aurora Borealis (instrumental)
    • 2:15:19 - Closer
    • 2:18:30 - Mouth of the Worm Reprise (Curtain Call)
    •

    • Cora Sone

    Cora Sone is a light heavy band from Baltimore. The trio features singer-songwriter Abby Becker on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick McMinn on modular synth, bass and keys, and Sam Balcom on drums. We achieve dreamy, glitched out, stuttering, and utterly unique sound by sending Becker’s lead vocals through the modular synth. The band started with a question: what happens when two people are playing one instrument at the same time? We grew to embrace rhythmic divergence, allowing time to expand and collapse in a style evocative of Becker's background in Klezmer music. This feeling of waiting and momentum serves as a vehicle for songs about imminence, the ethics of love, and heartbreak in the face of the every day world. Cora Sone has appeared with  Eze Jackson, War on Women, Wume, and Caleb Stine.
    • Band Photo
      Band Photo
      Art direction by Abby Becker, photo by Greg Bowen of Human Being Productions
    • Cora Sone live at The Metro Gallery, Baltimore 3-15-19
      This song is called Killer Man. I intentionally wrote it at a walking tempo, to represent the dread that so many of us feel just from walking alone.
    • Cora Sone (self-titled)
      Cora Sone (self-titled)
      In April 2018, my band Cora Sone released our debut EP on fifty, limited-edition, hand painted cassette tapes. Conceived as a demo and recorded at a small cabin with a wood burning stove in Nanjemoy, Maryland this recording became much more than that. It was important that every aspect of the album have our unique stamp on it, from the ambience of the forgotten Wes Anderson fairy tale that is Nanjemoy to our painstaking mixing process to the album's release at the Mercury Theater transformed by a hanging lavender and gold rose petals. The recording was engineered by our good from Jonah Beram and mixed by Patrick McMinn with a good deal of input by myself. I wrote each song on this album, and the B side "Nanjemoy" is Patrick McMinn's composition / soundscape of our tracks backwards. Album Art by Jessica Keyes. This image is a composite of two X-rays: my hand when it was fractured and my cat's paw (unscathed).
    • The Bottle
    • EZE JACKSON + CORA SONE: The Black Friday Planned Parenthood Fundraiser @ Rituals, Baltimore, 2019

      We did a live collaboration with Eze Jackson to benefit Planned Parenthood Nov. 29, 2019. We had just about a week to pull this set together with some of his songs and some of ours and some blended together. Video by Thomas Kessler

    • White Hat
    • Mood Board: Cora Sone EP
      Mood Board: Cora Sone EP
      I work with mood boards to visualize an album: both to guide audio/recording/shaping the songs, song order, transitions, as well as graphical representation and artwork. You will see a lot of opalescence, purples and gold, neon lights, and a sense of longing. This image is a slide from my teaching artist residency, Project Rock Star, a songwriting craft series for young people.
    • Cora Sone live at Mercury Theater
      Cora Sone live at Mercury Theater
      Cora Sone live at The Mercury Theater, Baltimore City. We designed and installed every aspect of this show: lighting, projections, sound, and bar to be an immersive, multi-sensory experience.
    • Man Child
    • Cora Sone Stage Plot
      Stage Plot for live performances

    • The Feast

    The Feast is a stop motion animated short film, produced as part of Baltimore Rock Opera Society's Six Pack Puppet Feature. I served as Music Director, wrote and performed the score for this film with Patrick McMinn. Release date: Jan. 22, 2021. The Feast continues to be selected for film festivals and was honored with a Juror Citation at the 2021 Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival. Credits: Music composed by Abby Becker with Patrick McMinn. Lyrics by Abby Becker. Abby Becker on Guitar, Violin, Backing Vocals, Chord Organ, Dreadful Autoharp, 808 Drum Machine.

    • The Feast: Short Film

      In the tiny village of Chowtown, the biggest is the best - therefore, the person who eats the most is elected to rule over the rest! It’s a flawless system until a stranger introduces a brand new innovation to the world - cannibalism.
       

      This film was created as part of the Puppet 6 pack for the Baltimore Rock Opera Society. Typically the troup produces grandiose original rock operas. However, in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the community group developed a plan to produce a 6-part puppet anthology. They sourced 6 volunteer groups to create shorts that ultimately become Holes.

    •

    Trucker Talk

    Fondly known as every puppet's favorite band, Trucker Talk started as the house band for the episodic puppet show "The Motherload" and has gone on to score an international award-winning short film, collaborate with Light City artists large scale installations, and even play music without puppets. Loosely styled as an experimental chamber group or "chamber transport" Trucker Talk is the product of four fiersome artists having way too much fun. Our members are Jessica Keyes (saxophone/flute/synth), Greg Bowen (drums/keys at the same time), Rich Kolm (bass and yips) and Abby Becker (violin/vocal effects/vibraslap). Our original album Dreams and Nightmares, was released in January 2023.

    • Were You Even Real - Trucker Talk

      Dreams and Nightmares is a debut EP chronicling the story of a single night's sleep.  Were You Even Real is the final track, originally conceived by Rich Kolm and developed and arranged collectively by the band. I play violin and sing on this track, which is partly improvised and partly composed.

      Available for Purchase
    • The Elephant's Song, Excerpt
      EXCERPT: "The Elephant's Song" tells the true and tragic tale of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, as recounted in song by her friend the old farm dog. Their story is portrayed in colorful, handcrafted animation, created frame by frame with clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation. The Baltimore band Trucker Talk arranged and scored this international award-winning short film directed by Lynn Tomlinson. The music was written by Sam Saper, adapted for the band's instrumentation. The film has since garnered dozens of awards, including two for music. Completed May, 2018, World Premiere at the Maryland Film Festival.
    • Marigold's Theme
      Written by Abby Becker, Performed by Greg Bowen and Abby Becker. Marigold is a puppet who can't catch a break. This song appears in The Mother Load Episode 9: Time.
    • Argyle Theme Song
      Written by Abby Becker, Performed by Rich Kolm and Greg Bowen. Argyle is a MacGyver character, except that he's a sock. The song appeared in The Mother Load Episode 9: Time.
    • Trucker Talk :: Pictures at an Exhibition (Abridged)
      An original, multimedia adaptation of Modest Mussordsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"
    • Neighborhood Lights at Brooklyn Park/Curtis Bay
      Neighborhood Lights at Brooklyn Park/Curtis Bay
      A collaboration with artist Maura Dwyer and the community of Brooklyn Park/Curtis Bay. Photo by Nicole Caracia
    • 31815506_1660408184029025_3111794455531749376_o.jpg
      31815506_1660408184029025_3111794455531749376_o.jpg
      We wrote an original score to two different shadow puppet shows. Pictured is our show at Brooklyn/Curtis Bay. Photo by Nicole Caracia
    •

    • Mobtown Live!

    Mobtown Live is Baltimore's favorite public-access style variety television show. April 4, 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic, I produced, co-hosted, and performed for The Great Baltimore Telethon with The Mobtown Ballroom. This very early online event was a 16-hour fundraiser for Baltimore artists and gig workers freshly out of work. I booked more than fifty acts in less than two weeks, and the event raised over $17,000 for participating artists. The Telethon was an exercise in performance art; part of the fun was to watch our skeleton crew of four descend into madness as we stayed live for 16 hours straight. The event featured dancers, puppeters, Drag Queen story hour, magic, taxidermy, music, crafting, cocktail making, hula hooping, etc. My role was as producer, curator, one woman house band, MC, and production manager. 
    This glorious event evolved into a weekly live stream variety TV show, Mobtown Live which I produced with The Mobtown Ballroom and Matt Hachi Reid. Mobtown Live aired weekly for a year, Wednesday evenings live at 7PM. The program is a gesture at connection, at holding our community together while elevating the artists we love. So many featured artists told us, this is my first performance in 6 months. My artistic world is not a solo project; my work is in creating, maintaining, and elevating the community that I love and respect here in Baltimore. Guests included Mayor Brandon Scott, Comptroller Bill Henry, Eze Jackson, Bobbi Rush, Zeb Bangash, Jonathan Gilmore, Baynard Woods, Landis Expandis, and many more.
    • Mobtown Live, Baltimore Sun feature
      Mobtown Live, Baltimore Sun feature
      Pictured here on the front page of the Baltimore Sun's Arts and Culture section, Mobtown Live was featured in an article about live performance during the pandemic.
    • Not Just for Kids Zone - Schedule Part 1
      Not Just for Kids Zone - Schedule Part 1
      Schedule, Curation, & Booking by myself and Sarah Sullivan, Design by Allison Fisher
    • Mobtown Telethon Schedule Part 3: Now It's Dark
      Mobtown Telethon Schedule Part 3: Now It's Dark
      Curation, Booking, Schedule by myself and Sarah Sullivan, Design by Allison Fisher
    • Sound checking for the Great Baltimore Telethon
      Sound checking for the Great Baltimore Telethon
      On set, on location at the Mobtown Ballroom. In addition to serving as production manager and booking acts, I performed and served as one of our hosts.
    • Mobtown Live Theme Song
      Written and Performed by Abby Becker
    • Process Photo
      Process Photo
      Booking / curation in process. Each sticky note represents an act, color coded by genre.
    • Maryland Voter Couch Party, Co-Production with Maryland League of Conservation Voters
      Maryland Voter Couch Party, Co-Production with Maryland League of Conservation Voters
      We were asked by Maryland League of Conservation Voters to produce and host their voter couch party. Design by Abby Becker.
    • New Branding, Mobtown Live
      New Branding, Mobtown Live
      I provided art direction for our new branding. Design by Allison Fisher
    • Upcoming, season 3 starts Jan. 27, 2021
      Upcoming, season 3 starts Jan. 27, 2021
      Sample lineup for Mobtown Live
    • Guerilla advertising campaign, Waverly Farmer's Market
      Guerilla advertising campaign, Waverly Farmer's Market
      We got creative to get the word out. Yes, this actually worked.
    •

    • Stop Making Sense: A Musical Benefit for Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition

    In November 2019, I produced and performed in a remount of the Talkings Heads classic 1983 concert film Stop Making Sense. With a core band, a different lead singer on each song, horn section, lights, projections, film, and staging this ambitious, two night show was not so much a restaging as a performance art piece. I put my heart into producing this show and was deeply involved in casting, artistic direction, promotion, and performance. It was my priority to cast a lineup that brought an unlikely, powerful group together and honor those artists by encouraging them to make the performance their own. Our team included rappers, punks, and Peabody grads, as well as dancers and theater techs. We sold out the Ottobar, raised over $4,000 for The Baltimore Harm Reduction Society, and produced a show BmoreArt called “a booster shot” for the city.
    • abbyheaven.jpeg
      abbyheaven.jpeg
      "Heaven" live at Stop Making Sense Photo by Brian O'Doherty
    • groupshot.jpg
      groupshot.jpg
      Photo by Brian O'Doherty
    • C&Pwithcrew.jpeg
      C&Pwithcrew.jpeg
      Photo by Brian O'Doherty
    • 76722780_2442427216031025_8487317949168746496_n.jpg
      76722780_2442427216031025_8487317949168746496_n.jpg
      It was my concept to have two dancer's represent each half of David Byrne's iconic big suit. The design was brought to life by Kat Zotti. Pictured: Marissa O'Guinn Dahl and Blair Hagan. Photo by Quinton Randall.
    • marissa&blair.jpg
      marissa&blair.jpg
      Photo by Brian O'Doherty
    • amy.jpg
      amy.jpg
      Pictured: Amy Reid of Grl Pwr. Photo by Brian O'Doherty
    • StopMakingSense_DigitalPoster_10302019_0845.jpg
      StopMakingSense_DigitalPoster_10302019_0845.jpg
      Show Poster by Shannon Light Hadley
    • Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 3.02.56 PM.png
      Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 3.02.56 PM.png
      Feature in BmoreArt Nov. 13, 2019 || Music Director Rich Kolm and I were interviewed about the show. Abby Becker, one of the event’s main producers, notes parallels between the way Talking Heads was sort of a sponge for various musical styles and influences and the appealing expansiveness of Baltimore’s music scene. “They were art school kids who built a sort of funk band and hung out at CBGB’s with the punks,” Becker says. “The breadth of their influences make their music accessible to different kinds of people because they are completely untethered to genre.”
    • IMG_4817.jpg
      IMG_4817.jpg
      WTMD interview with Sam Sessa. Myself, Rich Kolm, and Landis Exandis appeared on The Baltimore Hit Parade.
    • Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 3.10.14 PM.png
      Screen Shot 2019-12-23 at 3.10.14 PM.png
      Stop Making Sense: Photos appeared in Bmore Art Nov. 25th, 2019. "I was happy to buy a ticket to support the artists putting on Stop Making Sense—they all received a stipend—and to support a small organization doing valuable and life-saving work in this city. I was delighted by literally every moment of the performance—from opener Kathleen Wilson’s vulnerable, solo “Psycho Killer” to Abby Becker’s glorious bellowing on “Heaven” to Landis Expandis as a high-rolling holy-roller making it rain upon the audience during “Once in a Lifetime” to Amy Reid’s lamp dancing and sweet-voiced “This Must Be the Place” and J. Pope’s funkified “Found a Job” and Eze Jackson’s quick-paced “Crosseyed and Painless.” And of course I just lost it when Sara Kryscio wove into Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” the chorus from Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.” - Rebekah Kirkman
    •

    • The Baltimore Mixtape

    The first ever Baltimore Mixtape Music and Arts Festival took place, May 4th - 5th, 2019 in Station North. This event, featuring over 60 acts, almost every single one of which is from Baltimore City and represented a glimpse into the rich diversity of musical genres and artistry our city has to offer. From hip hop to punk to country, we brought them together in a curated, mind blowing single weekend of celebration and inspiration. This was our love letter to the city; it's our way of holding up our community to say we are worthwhile. After the city shuttered, threatened, and drove the DIY world in Baltimore so far underground that we were effectively silenced, a lot of us wondered if that era was over. Even though I've been playing music in the city for years, I can't pretend to claim a particular scene as mine. But I was asked by a couple of friends who wanted to show that energy, that something-from-nothing spirit that is still thriving in the city and I said yes. I was deeply involved in booking and curating the diverse lineup, developing the concept, managing meetings and the production team, press (I wrote the copy, mission/vision, and press release for the festival), promotions, budgeting, permits / licensing, interfacing with venues, ticketing, logistics, stage managing, and performing. We managed to pay every single artist who took a risk playing this first-year event (despite heavy rain the second day) and year two is currently in the works.  
    • Caleb Stine Caleb Stine with special guests Beyond the Natural
      Caleb Stine Caleb Stine with special guests Beyond the Natural
      The festival was opened by Baltimore City School students, and Caleb invited them to join on one of his songs.
    • Can Paradise Be Regained for Explore the Core, Central Baltimore Partnership
      "Can Paradise Be Regained" for Explore the Core, Central Baltimore Partnership
      Pictured: members of The Baltimore Mixtape production team for the story. Left to right: Alex Harrell, Paul Joyce, Abby Becker, Gino Hannah, Grace White, Rich Kolm. Not pictured: Ky McKy,Phil Celeste. Photo & story by Edward Weiss. "After the tragedy of Oakland's Ghost Ship, the need for tightening safety standards shut down many Baltimore DIY spaces (most famously the Bell Foundry). And cross pollination in the Baltimore music scene never returned to previous levels. Until now, that is –the Baltimore Mixtape, will showcase almost 60 live acts, all consciously curated (we've seen the spreadsheets) to encompass as many genres as possible. The organizers are hoping to supercharge what they see as a burgeoning desire to return to the silo-busting recent past of Baltimore music, and give a boost to like-minded events/spaces such as The Windup Space, The Crown, and Ratscape Baltimore."
    • Poster by Landis Expandis
      Poster by Landis Expandis
    • Cora Sone live at Baltimore Mixtape
      Cora Sone live at Baltimore Mixtape
    • Schedule layout by Jessica Keyes
      Schedule layout by Jessica Keyes
    • Safer Spaces Poster by The Globe Collection at MICA
      Safer Spaces Poster by The Globe Collection at MICA
      The festival was designated a safer space by Hollaback Baltimore. This was a major priority for me in setting the tone of our event. We worked with the one and only Shawna Potter to train our core team, plus volunteers. She coached us through the process of creating our own policy, and we were ready to take action if needed. These eye-catching can't-miss posters were generously designed and printed pro bono by the Globe Poster Collection at MICA and prominently displayed throughout the festival. Having a policy doesn't much matter if no one knows about it.
    • Sunday Schedule
      Sunday Schedule
      Layout by Jessica Keyes. Putting this together was a bear!
    •