Tara Macri “Grace” song returns to piano roots in new live version
Billboard-charting singer-songwriter Tara Macri returns with “Grace (Live Studio Version),” a new live recording and accompanying performance video arriving November 6. Originally released this summer as a cinematic pop anthem, the track explores people who change lives and connections that remain after someone is gone. The new version takes an intimate approach that brings the song’s original piano roots back into focus.
Produced by Jordan “AliasOne” Winfield and Spencer Sunshine, mixed by multiple Grammy award-winning Chris “CLA” Lord-Alge and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, the recording was made live at The Orange Lounge in Toronto. Macri performs on grand piano alongside choir vocalists Jenna Cowans, Tarik Henry, Jonathan Boddie and Inez Mugisha, cellist Kevin Fox and percussionist Zak St. John. The session also restores an entire section of lyrics removed from the original version.
Macri explained the choice: “‘Grace’ originally started with just me sitting at the piano, so I always loved the idea of going back to where it all began. When we brought the choir in to record the original version, I remember hearing them sing and just falling in love with their voices. I immediately thought, how amazing would it be to do a stripped-down version of the song with them? And a few months later we did.”
The Toronto session reunited Macri with the choir for the live performance. She added that the restored lyrics section gives listeners more of the story, creating a different and more intimate feel even though it is the same song.
The accompanying live performance video was filmed and edited by Corey “CW” Winfield. It shows Macri at the piano with the four choir vocalists surrounding her and places emphasis on the voices, instrumentation and emotion of the new interpretation.
At its heart the song asks one simple question: Who is your Grace? The question may refer to someone still present, someone lost or someone known only briefly yet who changed everything. The original track began when Macri was missing someone deeply and wondering whether that person could send a sign they were okay. What started as personal reflection expanded into a broader exploration of people who shape lives and become part of who we are.
The original version of “Grace” was released July 31. It received radio support across Canada with 106 reported spins and an estimated airplay audience of 136,000 in markets including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax and Ottawa. The single debuted at number 50 on Top 40 Canadian radio. A targeted Top 40 campaign continues in the United States with early airplay secured at KKPN’s Planet 102.3 in Corpus Christi.
Editorial coverage has appeared from EARMILK, B-Sides & Badlands and Popdust. The original single was produced by Jordan “Alias One” Winfield and mixed by five-time Grammy winner Chris Lord-Alge. Its music video, directed by Julia Baylis and Sam Guest of Anarene Films, was filmed against the backdrop of New York City and followed strangers whose lives intersect through unexpected moments of connection.
Macri has appeared in Broadway productions including Hairspray, Jersey Boys and The First Wives Club, performed as Amber in Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Nick Jonas and John Stamos, and lent her voice to DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll. She received Best Actress honors for her starring role in the film Outcry. Earlier music releases include the Billboard-charting “Prettiest Girl in the Room,” “Excuses,” “Waking Up in California” and “Gonna Get Loud.”
