Alyssa and Doug Graham have spent most of their 37 years together making music. The New Jersey natives, who met in high school, traveled the world early on in a quasi-jazz band. One of the bands they frequently performed with in the jazz touring circuit included members of the GRAMMY-nominated Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band. While this was an incredible experience, the pair wanted to return home to their folk roots.
Once stateside, during a walk in New York’s Central Park, the couple brainstormed a 10-year project of three concept albums. They soon embraced their love of Americana music, rooted in childhood favorites like the Grateful Dead, The Band, and Neil Young, and traveled “the rivers, the rails, and the roads,” Doug says. The trilogy had The Grahams writing songs (along with childhood bestie Bryan McCann) about the people they met along the way for their 2013 debut Riverman’s Daughter, which saw the pair spend a year on a Mississippi riverboat;
2015 sophomore album Glory Bound, where they toured the country by rail; and the final installment, Kids Like Us (2020), in which they trekked Route 66 via the roads on motorcycle.
The songwriters continue to push themselves creatively on their new record, The Bridge. For the first time since the inception of The Grahams in 2013, Alyssa and Doug give listeners an honest glimpse into their personal lives within their music. The Bridge, the duo’s fourth studio album, has the couple embrace the collaborative Nashville co-write and, as a result, leave a bit of themselves in each of the project’s 11 tracks. Named after the George Washington Bridge that frequently took the duo from the Garden State to New York City during their childhood and formative teen years, The Bridge is inspired by their everyday lives.
With nearly 40 years of creativity, The Grahams continue to expand their artistic journey while inspiring others. Throughout the process, Alyssa and Doug Graham leave the world better than they found it.
