Madhouse Local: The Paper City Picture Show/Brittany Ann Tranbaugh/Red Jasper/The New Domestics

The Paper City Picture Show is a folk music project growing from the mouth and mind of Lea Chiara, a singer and songwriter who grew up in the rich music scene of western Massachusetts. She spins soulful story-songs and boot-stomping, waltzy vignettes about her travels and plays with a revolving cast of characters.

Brittany Ann Tranbaugh (pronounced TRAN-baw) is an award-winning singer/songwriter based in Philadelphia, PA. Originally from the Lehigh Valley area in PA, she kicked off her music career as a teenager playing at Godfrey Daniels, one of the country’s only remaining bona fide folk listening rooms. She has since performed all over the US and Canada in theaters, living rooms, basements, bars, coffee shops, backyards, and on festival stages including Firefly and Philly Folk Fest. Accolades include a 2021 Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song “Kiss You” and finalist spots in the Gems in the Rough, Kerrville New Folk, and LEAF NewSong competitions. In April 2022, she debuted an EP entitled “Quarter Life Crisis Haircut,” her first official release in over a decade. In this new batch of memorable and thoughtfully crafted songs, she tackles a wide range of topics including her sixth grade queer awakening, an awkward run-in with an old acquaintance, and the impossibility of true folk music authenticity in this day and age. At times witty and sarcastic, at other times heartbreaking and raw, the EP undoubtedly showcases Tranbaugh’s finest work to date.