Music was a major part of her upbringing, playing the piano and singing at every opportunity, but it wasn’t until after she left home that Merissa swapped out the piano for a guitar, and began playing folk music. She was content to play other people’s songs for several years, but leave it to a break up to push the emotions right out of her heart and into the lyrics and music of her first hit, I Was Happy. Although the songs that followed have all taken their time to evolve, she rarely has an experience anymore that she doesn’t think, “That would make a good song.”

Compared to musical icons such as Joan Baez and Nancy Griffith, and with major influences including Patty Griffin, Dar Williams, and Martha Scanlan, Merissa’s songs cover a broad range of genres such as folk, blue-grass, rock, and sometimes even a little spoken word. Manager Matt Lucia uses one word to describe her music, “Connected. Whether to a place, a person, or an experience, Merissa gives everyone the feeling of connection through her writing that they can’t help but feel connected to these things themselves.”

Catch her solo for soul-soothing tunes or performing lively mountain melodies with other local musicians and family in the heart of the Tetons. "I hope other people can find strength, empathy, motivation, and inspiration in my songs," a quote from Merissa in Teton Valley Magazine, 'Leaving These Hills', Summer 2008 by Lauren M. Whaley.