Boston singer-songwriter Staci Gruber releases “This Time Around,” a rock meets Americana single recorded in Nashville with producer Erik Halbig. The track brings together Halbig’s production expertise, honed through work with Ty Herndon and Jamie O’Neal, with the songwriting partnership of Gruber and Michael Orland of American Idol fame. The result is an infectious honky-tonk anthem that captures the raw emotion of love’s hardest lessons. Gruber describes the song as “really a story of love that pulled too hard, truth that came too late, and a heart that finally listened when it mattered most.”
Gruber’s journey from singing privately in her closet to finding her voice through an elementary school solo of “12 Days of Christmas” reflects the transformative power she now channels into her music. Her summers at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts deepened her artistic foundation. She made history as the first person to transition from classical voice to jazz studies in the five-year dual-degree program at Tufts University and New England Conservatory of Music. Her influences span Anne Murray, Barbra Streisand, Karen Carpenter, k.d. lang, Billie Eilish, Pink, Nancy Wilson, and John Coltrane, creating her own distinctive musical melting pot.
Beyond music, Gruber serves as a Harvard Medical School professor and pioneering neuroscientist at McLean Hospital, where her groundbreaking cannabis research generates real-world data influencing clinical trials. She has performed with Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers, written an anthem for Billie Jean King, and appeared at major events with collaborator Michael Orland. Her dual careers demonstrate how connection works across different fields, whether through songwriting or scientific exploration.
Gruber’s music creates space for listeners to process their own experiences while connecting with someone else’s story. She believes music allows people to understand different perspectives, offering empathy in its truest sense. “This Time Around” embodies that philosophy, turning personal heartbreak into something relatable and cathartic. The track reminds us that through shared emotional experiences, no one has to feel truly alone.