Elise Petersen

An ideal day in New York City for Elise Petersen includes a community choir rehearsal, a visit to the Whitney Museum, and either a Remi Wolf concert or a comedy show at The Bell House. After studying music at Belmont University in Tennessee, the singer-songwriter moved to Manhattan to pursue a career and throw herself into the city’s wide world of artistic expression. 

‍“I really feel like New York is my place, which is amazing. It's my favorite place to be creative.” 

‍With not even two years of the city under her belt, Petersen has released her first EP, Wasted Time in Mirrored Minds, an original collection of songs dripping in indie and folk style. Petersen draws inspiration from both her childhood exposure to classical music and her admiration for all art forms, even those completely separate from sound. She loves artists like Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac, and is slowly building a group of other New York musicians to book shows with. Cassette in Ridgewood has become a favorite venue to play at for the musician from Minnesota. 

Petersen works at Smile to Go, the takeout offshoot of The Smile, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant. She loves the Little Gem Salad and Breakfast Burrito, but is most grateful for how kind her managers are regarding her increasingly busy gig schedule. It’s a good thing, too: New York’s weather isn’t the only thing heating up. ∎