About

j
jill
A closeup of Jill wearing an orange tee shirt with hands in her hair, staring into the camera in front of the bleachers on a baseball field.

most soul artists can caress listeners with a song, but how many can say their music reaches out and asks for a caress in return? Jill McCracken knows comfort goes both ways, and they'd like their share of the love, please and thank you.

Profile image of Jill wearing a black tank top with her eyes open against a wood paneled wall.

As one of Boston’s leading singer-songwriters, Jill McCracken paints with strokes of compassion and warmth, using their long-standing love of songcraft to grip listeners to the soft spots of their heart. Their ears are trained to translate tenderness into works of art — and so is their eye for sentimental visuals, thanks in part to their BFA in Fine Art Photography.

Profile of Jill, sitting up straight with her eyes closed, wearing a black tank top with a strap falling down, against a wood paneled wall.

Originally from western New York, McCracken’s obsession with strong songs began at just eight years old, long before they began tinkering on the guitar and drums as a preteen. It wasn’t until they were 19 that the world got to hear their strongest instrument – their voice – but they've been using it to embrace crowds ever since.

Now rooted at the core of the Boston music community, McCracken’s passion for writing, arranging, and producing music remains front and center in their career, although their knack for pivoting between sparse solo sets and boisterous big band performances is just as impressive. 

Jill leans on the bars under the bleachers at a baseball field, wearing an orange tee shirt.
“I’ve always been a lot:
big ideas,
high standards,
loud voice”
Help Me, Hold Me, Heal Me
2022

McCracken's outreach has clearly resonated with the Boston scene. Following their win for "Soul/R&B Act of the Year" from the New England Music Awards, the Boston songwriter scored nominations for "Female Performer of the Year" (NEMA) as well as "Singer/Songwriter of the Year" and "Vocalist of the Year" (Boston Music Awards).

While traveling the US on their tiny songs tour in THE fall of 2023, McCracken extended a piece of themselves again with their release of "idle", an intimate solo EP consisting of 3 deeply emotional songs.

2 of 3 - Jill sings into a mic against a while, front lit by a sunset projected on top of her.
1 of 3 - Jill sings into a mic against a while, front lit by a sunset projected on top of her.
3 of 3 - Jill sings into a mic against a while, front lit by a sunset projected on top of her.

A through line of radical vulnerability is drawn through "break my heart" to "danger detector" and "walk to the moon"; muted fingerpicking and whispered metaphors hit the listener's ear as though they're right there in the room, nestled into a safe space for sharing feelings. The songs contain more questions than answers from the soul singer as they work through the fuzziness of relationships, pairing them against the backdrop of their own psychology.

Jill raising the microphone up in the air while performing with her band at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA.
Jill sits in front of a light brown backdrop with a red flower in her hair and playing an acoustic guitar.
Jill plays guitar on stage and sings two backing vocalists. She wears a flower crown.
Jill sitting in a wooden room laying over another chair.
Jill singing with her band on stage, wearing a yellow dress.
Jill leans on the bars under the bleachers at a baseball field, wearing an orange tee shirt.
Photo taken from behind the audience of Jill and her band playing on stage in front of a large typographic backdrop.
Jill stands with her arm over her head, looking off-camera, wearing a black tank top against a wood paneled wall.

“i’ve always been a lot – big ideas, high standards, loud voice. we all internalize lessons about how we should be in the world, and i learned to shrink myself down. the best way to keep the peace was for me to be an ‘easy’ kid; there wasn’t much space for messy and complicated feelings, so i just denied mine altogether for so much of my life. ‘just right’ is a love song to myself and to anyone else who needs to hear this: you’re not too much, you’re not too little– you’re just right, just as you are.”

Jill McCracken

Bio by Victoria Wasylak

Awards

Vocalist of the Year 2024
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2024
Singer-songwriter of the Year 2024
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2024
Singer-songwriter of the Year 2023
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2023
Vocalist of the Year 2023
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2023
Female Performer of the Year 2023
Nominee
New England Music Awards
2023
Singer-songwriter of the Year 2022
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2022
Female Performer of the Year 2022
Nominee
New England Music Awards
2022
Soul/R&B Act of the Year 2022
Winner
New England Music Awards
2022
Vocalist of the Year 2021
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2021
Singer-songwriter of the Year 2019
Nominee
Boston Music Awards
2019