From Rose Hall to Granada eater Grace Pearson- ompson ’19 Rises to TikTok Music Fame

Chancey Stefanos, Ivy Stitt

Grace Pearson- ompson ’19 is no stranger to the stage.

In her senior year at Greenhill, she graced the Rose Hall stage in the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center, playing the lead role in “ e Drowsy Chaperone.”

Since then, she has moved on from theater and picked up a guitar and her iPhone notes app. Picking from her life experiences to write and produce her own music, she has o cially released six of her own songs on music streaming platforms.

Pearson- ompson has also garnered a dedicated TikTok following and is opening for artists Adam Melchor and Ella Jane as indie folk singer-songwriter Grace Gardner.

“Every day that I do what I’ve been passionate about since I was a kid is a day I can breathe easier,” said Pearson- ompson. “My bucket emotionally is over owing with love; I’m just over the moon.”

A member of the Forever Club, Pearson- ompson spent almost her entire childhood at Greenhill. In her early days as a Hornet, Pearson- ompson considered herself a “perceptive wall ower.”

“I spent Middle School just writing stu down and observing the things around me,” Pearson- ompson said. “I really didn’t talk to anybody.” roughout her time at Greenhill, Pearson- ompson says she “lived in the [Marshall Family Performing Arts Center].” She joined Advanced Video Production, sang in Greenhill Singers and performed in nine theater productions. Upper School Fine Arts Department Chair Corbin Doyle, who taught her for six years, recalls her unparalleled creativity.

“She had all the stories, she had the vision,” Doyle said. “She was just one of those people that was uber creative. You would de ne Grace as one of those people that you’d see around and say, ‘she’s arts,’ you know?”

Like all juniors, Pearson- omspon took Narrative Non ction, a mandatory English class based on storytelling. Upper School English teacher Andy Mercurio clearly remembers her ability to nd experiences within herself for her writing assignments.

“It’s remarkable that as a junior she was able to recognize the importance of being able to tell her own story with authenticity,” Mercurio said.

Despite her introverted nature, Pearsonompson considers her experiences at Greenhill as fundamental to breaking her out of her shell. She says she developed an ability to critically analyze her feelings and surroundings, a skill that lies at the heart of songwriting.

“I think that Greenhill made me a good storyteller by giving me a really analytical but also creative and literary mindset,” Pearsonompson said. “ e way my teachers really encouraged creative expression gave me the tools to understand and write about the world while I was really struggling to gain any clear understanding of myself.”

Pearson- ompson initially dismissed her artistic talents, enrolling in college as a pre-med major. A er graduating from Greenhill in 2019, she began studying at the University of Texas at Austin, and later transferred to Tulane University.

Despite her academic endeavors, Pearson- ompson could never shake her love for singing. She decided to join college acapella groups and show choir.

“It was kind of to ll the void,” said Pearson- ompson. “I really liked when I got to just be on stage and sing. By being in those groups, I got to do that, but I had this dream [of songwriting] that kept coming back.”

She began making music of her own, describing her style as a Venn diagram between pop, indie, rock and folk genres. Her stage name is Grace Gardner, one she settled on by looking up “G” last names on Google to replace her hyphenated last name, which she felt was “too clunky.”

In July 2021, Pearson- ompson started performing at bars and house shows in and around New Orleans. Shortly a er, she released her rst single, “Radio Silence,” a lyrically bitter but pop-infused anthem.

“I thought of ‘Radio Silence’ as a foot in the door and a step towards legitimacy,” Pearson- ompson said. “It ended up not feeling like either, but it brought me catharsis.”

Just months a er starting these shows, Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans, and Pearsonompson felt stuck. So, she withdrew from Tulane to work full-time and use the money to make more music and produce a sound that felt authentic.

“Essentially, I learned how to be a producer out of stubbornness,” Pearsonompson said. “I didn’t feel like my sonic truth was being told when other folks were producing my songs. I knew how I wanted it to sound in my head, but I didn’t know how to translate it. I basically went into hiding and binge-watched Logic Pro tutorials.”

She continued to write and compose, eventually moving to Austin and enrolling in online classes at Berklee College of Music to nish her degree in music business.

“I’m really excited because that was always kind of my dream when I was younger,” she said. “At some point I hijacked my brain and was like ‘you can’t do music, that’s not realistic.’” en, in August 2022, everything changed for Pearson- ompson when she posted a TikTok of her then un nished song, “Deny Me.” Nearly eight months later, her TikTok has been viewed over 600,000 times, a success that seemingly came overnight.

“I had just moved [to Austin] and gone through a rough breakup,” she said. “I just had to get it out. I went to bed. When I woke up, life was very di erent.”

e overwhelming support from TikTok launched Pearson- ompson into the spotlight. With this newfound fame, however, came the challenge of navigating the music industry.

“I remember thinking, ‘How do I pull myself up a seat at the table?’” Pearsonompson said. “Trying to strike that balance without having really any exposure to the entertainment industry was de nitely a learning curve.”

Despite her lack of experience, Pearsonompson hit the ground running and released two more singles, “Scorpions Don’t Live Forever,” and “Parcel.” Both unpack her own feelings, from bitterness and frustration to fear of heartbreak.

Her songs were quickly added to several of Spotify’s popular curated playlists, including “sad girl starter pack,” and most notably, “New Music Friday,” which boasts over 4 million likes from Spotify listeners. is placed her songs alongside artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo and even one of her biggest inspirations, Lizzy McAlpine.

Now, Pearson- ompson is on tour for the rst time ever.

“Tour has just been such a dream,” she said. “I love getting to connect with everyone. As an opener, it’s surreal speaking with people a er shows who are like, ‘we came here for you.’ I literally was just a loser for like a hot minute of my life.”

Pearson- ompson made her way back to Dallas to perform at the Granada eater on March 5 with fellow indie folk singersongwriter, Adam Melchor.

“dallas my hometown thank you for the best show ever,” wrote Pearson- ompson in an Instagram post on March 9. “i will never forget it & i will never forget you!!!!”

Pearson- ompson’s Greenhill mentors, Doyle and Mercurio, say they could have seen this coming.

“In the Upper School, she was really beginning to embrace the artist that she was,” Doyle said. “ ere’s a con dence and a storytelling and a voice in there, so obviously people are gonna show up at these shows.”

Pearson- ompson’s EP, “Peach,” was released on March 3. She wants to continue writing and touring.

“I have, like, thousands of lyrics in my notes app,” Pearson- ompson said. “I’ve been hunched over my desk, cranking out stu . I hope to release a 12-15 song album this summer. en I’m just trying to get on more tours and just get on the road like I’m doing right now.”

With touring, social media and songwriting, Pearson- ompson’s life has become centered around the creativity that has been present in her since childhood.

“I would tell my younger self to keep homing in on creative expression and art,” Pearson- ompson said. “It doesn’t have to be shared and advertised if you don’t want it to, but if you do, at least one person is going to resonate with it.”