Bio

Nancy McArthur is an actor, singer-songwriter and teaching artist based in New York City. She was born in Washington D.C., raised overseas in Europe and Southeast Asia, and spent most childhood summers in a small West Virginia town by the Potomac river. 

On stage, she’s starred in a wild variety of experimental works under the direction of Danya Taymor, Ping Chong, and O-Lan Jones to name some names. On TV she’s had the privilege of working the likes of Rachel Morrison and Spike Lee. And in independent film, she’s collaborated with a directors from all over the world, from Cuba, to Brazil and Iceland. 

Nancy’s recent collaboration with Claire Barnett and Oliver Demers, a short film called FREAK, premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention from the jury. It won the Audience Award at the Glasgow International Short Film Festival and celebrated its North American Premiere at Vancouver International Film Festival. 

As a musician, Nancy writes songs in a genre that might best be described as alternative-folk-with-dad-jokes. Her debut album I Would I Were Thy Bird in December 2023 to a sold-out show at Brooklyn Music Kitchen. She recorded her second full-length album in Ireland with Oli D Remembers and Belfast-local Muckno. It is set to be released later this year.

Nancy holds a BFA in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts’ Experimental Theatre Wing and Stonestreet Studios.

A blend of indie, folk, and melancholy, Nancy McArthur’s songs are meditative, heart-searching, and unexpectedly sarcastic.

She’s gigged at venues across New York City from Pete’s Candy Store and the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe to the late Rockwood Music Hall.

Her debut album I Would I Were Thy Bird was released in December of 2023, to a sold-out show at Brooklyn Music Kitchen.

Album Cover by Claire Barnett.