Melissa Bathory’s music is honest, uplifting and rich with playful melodies and lyrics. Her upcoming sophomore release Hands, slated for release on May 5th 2009 is an account of personal moments and reflections on love and heartbreak, told with unmatched optimism. Melissa wrote the entirety of the record in a few short months and co-produced the effort. She is Toronto indie chameleon is a little bit of pop and rock, with a heart rooted in soul music. With a debut full-length album, tours and featured film and television placement of her songs already on her resume, she is anticipating reactions to her new album and can’t wait to hit the road to support it. Melissa’s music video for her upcoming single Pearl has been making waves online and she is currently in pre-production to film her second for Hands, the melodic heartfelt instant hit. The Last Time, an upbeat anthem about letting go has been getting a lot of pre-release buzz as an album favorite. Her natural gift for songwriting propelled her into pursuing music when she won the prestigious 2002 John Lennon Songwriting contest in the R&B category for her song “You Are…” The next year she performed the same song to an audience of over 5,000 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, NYC, sharing the stage with Michelle Branch and Queen Latifah. Her performance was aired as a one hour special on Much Music USA. After touring the states, playing such legendary venues as San Francisco’s Fillmore West, the House of Blues on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and New York’s The Bitter End, she returned home to continue work on her record. She gathered a group of Humber College music graduates and formed a new band and started paying her dues on live stages in her hometown of Toronto and perfecting her act. Working with Canadian power pop Producer Adam Messinger, Melissa and her collaborators crafted the starts of a slick soul record. Melissa and her band rounded off the album in Philadelphia with Grammy nominated producer and engineer David Ivory (The Roots, Erykah Badu, Patti Labelle). In Philly, the song “2 Good 2 U” materialized and became an instant favourite and her CD “Ready” was released independently shortly after. Melissa has spent the past four years refining her live performance and songwriting. She is an active member in Toronto based artist collective GoodSoundsGood and has been helping her peers redefine their careers as independent musicians by creating stages, forums and support for like-minded creators. She has had the fortune to share the stage with The Black Eyed Peas, Slum Village, Michelle Branch, James Bryan of the Philosopher Kings amongst many more.