Origin Story

The freaky femme folk band Pretty Polly—created in 2018 by artists Sarah Lawrence and Liz Olear—is outrageously dark and humorously poignant. With their words, they weave narratives in a haunting harmony of female voices. Through immersive character work and inventive costumes, they invite audiences into a world of subversion and surreal storytelling.

Inspired by the character of a folk murder ballad of the same name—a naive young woman deceived by a charming suitor who promised marriage and a better life. Instead he lured her into the forest, only to murder her and bury her in a shallow grave. Her restless spirit rose from the earth—betrayed, wronged, and bound by vengeance—to haunt the man who killed her and the world that failed to protect her. She appears as a ghostly figure in the woods, a whisper in the darkness, or on storm-tossed ships, a spectral reminder of innocence lost and the inescapable truth of consequence.

Pretty Polly has been performing live original music throughout NYC for over five years and has since evolved from a two-piece band into a collaborative performance collective. Alongside Sarah (Lead Vocals/Guitar/Music and Lyrics/Costume Design) and Liz (Lead Vocals/Autoharp/Lyrics), the group features harmonies by Shannon Buhler, a rotating array of instruments played by actor Ari Dalbert, drag performance by the enigmatic CryBaby, and script writing and direction by Emilie Pass.

Their self titled EP can be found on Spotify.