May 18, 2026
Millbrook Native Tessa Ruane Drops Debut Album 'Copper & Gravel' to Local Buzz
Singer-songwriter Tessa Ruane, who grew up on the city's west side, released her first full-length record this week — and it sounds like Millbrook.
MILLBROOK, June 10 — Tessa Ruane spent most of her twenties playing open mics at The Anchor Bar on Fulton Street and busking outside the Clement Park gazebo on summer weekends. Now 28, the Millbrook-born singer-songwriter has released her debut album, Copper & Gravel, on the small independent label Siltwater Records — and if the early response from local listeners is any indication, she's not going to be a local secret much longer. The record dropped Tuesday on all major streaming platforms and sold out its first run of 200 vinyl pressings within 36 hours.
A Sound Rooted in Place
Copper & Gravel is a 10-track collection of alt-folk and Americana, anchored by Ruane's warm, unhurried vocals and an economy of words that punches well above its modest production budget. Standout tracks include the melancholy opener "Delaney in October," which name-checks the avenue and the river basin, and the uptempo "Gravel Road Hymn," which Ruane has said was inspired by her late grandfather's farm just outside the city limits. Local guitarist Marcus Finley appears on four tracks and adds a fingerpicked intimacy that suits the record's reflective tone throughout.
Release Show Set for June 22
Ruane will celebrate the album's release with a hometown show on June 22 at the Millbrook Loft, doors at 7 p.m. and music at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 in advance and $18 at the door, available at the venue's website. Opening the night will be fellow Millbrook act The Greyfield Duo, who released their own well-received EP in March. "I wrote most of this record on the west side, in my mom's kitchen and in my car," Ruane told the Courier. "I just want people from here to hear it and feel something familiar."
