Primarily known as a bassist with groups like Grammy-nominated band Alvvays and surf pop band La Luz, Abbey Blackwell (Seattle, WA, USA) is focusing her energies on writing for solo guitar and voice.
Since making her home in Seattle, WA in 2009, moving down from Everett, WA, Abbey has enmeshed herself in the myriad scenes there via the University of Washington. Moving between avant-garde, jazz, classical, rock, and pop, Abbey has been busy gigging as a bassist for a decade, playing with Seattle’s best and beyond: including La Luz, Wayne Horvitz, Macklemore, Jonathan Wilson, Cassandra Jenkins, and Shana Cleveland. However in the last handful of years, she has begun to focus more on composing and leading groups of her own.
Her first foray into leading a band was with Rae: an instrumental trio that released the record Internal Volume in August 2020. This group features Ronan Delisle (guitar) and Evan Woodle (drums) and Blackwell on bass in a wild ride of group improvisations, sweet harmonies and off-kilter melodies. Shortly before the release of Internal Volume, she was recognized as Seattle’s Emerging Artist of the Year as a part of the Earshot Golden Ear Awards.
Since Rae, Abbey has moved into writing songs that feature the voice and guitar (a time-tested combination). Under her name, she has released two LPs, both receiving acclaim on indie music platforms. My Maze (2023), released on Ruination Records, ended up being one of Gorilla vs Bear’s top albums of 2023, and most recently the self-released Big Big Motion (2024) garnered a kind words from publications like Brooklyn Vegan, Foxy Digitalis, and For the Rabbits, amongst others.
Her newest release Dream a Day will be available to stream on Bandcamp on April 7, 2026.
Outside of performing and recording, she teaches private lessons through her studio and at Cornish College of the Arts, as well as leads a big band at Garfield HS.
Abbey holds a master's degree in Jazz and Improvised Music and a bachelor’s of music in Double Bass Performance from the University of Washington.
*All linked recordings feature Abbey’s playing
photo by Nathan Reed