| Erin Hill | |
| Birth Name: | Erin Kathleen Hill |
| Birth Place: | Louisville, Kentucky, US |
| Occupation: | Harpist, singer, songwriter, musician, actress |
| Years Active: | 1997–present |
| Instrument: | Harp, vocals |
| Label: | Gridley Records, Cleopatra Records |
| Associated Acts: | a-ha, Enya, Cyndi Lauper, Kanye West, The Fab Faux, Martha Wainwright, G. E. Smith, Garth Hudson, Savoy, Four Celtic Voices, The Dream Jam Band, |
Erin Hill is an American harpist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actress. Her Celtic album hit #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart[1] and she has played and sung with Kanye West, Cyndi Lauper, Moby, Sinéad O'Connor, Enya, a-ha, Randy Newman, Jewel, Josh Groban, and many other celebrities, as well as Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and for royalty.[2]
As an actress, she has appeared on Broadway,[3] film, and television,[4] most notably as the Pretty White Girl Who Sings Dave's Thoughts on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show.[5] She originated the roles of Kate Mullins in Titanic on Broadway, and of Lulu in the Sam Mendes/Rob Marshall revival of Cabaret and appears on both Original Broadway Cast recordings. She played Sandra Mescal in the Tim Robbins film Cradle Will Rock and appears on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. She is an actor, composer and screenwriter in the film Clear Blue Tuesday, about which the New York Times said: "Erin Hill, as a giddy, harp-playing Trekker, stands out… The best and funniest scene in the film is Ms. Hill's".[6]
The Los Angeles record label Cleopatra Records has released three of Hill's albums, starting with Harp Town in 2016. Harp Town features Hill's harp and voice arrangements of songs by artists such as Rihanna, Radiohead, The Beatles, Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Edith Piaf, Adele, Lady Gaga, Smashing Pumpkins, Kansas, Alicia Keys, Roxy Music, and Kate Bush. Cleopatra also released Hill's album Christmas Harp, and her album of originals, Girl Inventor.
Hill is an avid science fiction fan and a regular performer at Dragon Con in Atlanta, and her "Lookout, Science" and "Giant Mushrooms" music videos were featured in the Dragon Con Independent Film Festival.[7] USA Today premiered her sci-fi music video "Lookout, Science". Her westie dog MacLeod (named for the main character in the film Highlander) is a frequent co-star in her music videos.[8] Her three electric harps are named V’ger (from Star Trek), Klaatu (from The Day the Earth Stood Still), and Ylla (from The Martian Chronicles).
Hill was featured in an HBO Game of Thrones promo, playing the Game of Thrones theme on her harp.[9] She won an Independent Music Award for her song "Stun," from her Girl Inventor album.[10] and she did Original Music and Sound Design for the Drama Desk Award-nominated That Play: a Solo Macbeth.[11] Hill is also the voice and harp behind Tafne, a central character in the Android video game The Legacy of Barubash.[12] Hill has also played her harp several years for the US Open Tennis Championships in the exclusive Hospitality Pavilion. Newsday has called her "the dangerously enjoyable Erin Hill."[13]
In 2019, she debuted her show “Harp Oddity: The Music of David Bowie,” featuring Hill's arrangements of Bowie tunes on vocals and electric harp, along with her band.[14]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | A Day in the Wife | Jenna | directed by Katie Pawluk | |
| 2013 | Jerome's Bouquet | Good Samaritan #1 | directed by Chris Calkins, Bebe Neuwirth | |
| 2009 | Clear Blue Tuesday | Etta Cummins | also screenwriter and composer[19] | |
| 2009 | Red Hook | Westie Girl[20] | uncredited | |
| 2000 | Loser | Dancer / Lulu | uncredited | |
| 1999 | Cradle Will Rock | Sandra Mescal | directed by Tim Robbins | |
| 1993 | 24 Frames per Second | Susan Tiptree[21] | CINE Eagle Award, IAC Gold |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Today Show | herself | harpist & singer for Meghan Markle[22] | |
| 2019 | Good Morning America | herself | harpist & singer for Meghan Markle[23] | |
| 2018 | Articulate (TV Series) | herself – singer, duet with Taylor Mac | episode: The Wildest Dreamers | |
| 2018 | Million Dollar Listing New York (TV Series) | harpist | ||
| 2015 | Don't Touch Me, Bro | harpist | ||
| 2008 | The Sunny Side Up Show | Erin the Red | episode: Chica's Big Birthday Surprise! | |
| 2007 | Live Earth The Concerts for a Climate Crisis | herself | harpist for Kanye West | |
| 2007 | Education of Kanye Part 1 | herself | harpist | |
| 2007 | Education of Kanye Part 2 | herself | harpist | |
| 2007 | 106 Park & Live | herself | harpist for Kanye West | |
| 2007 | MTV Total Request Live | herself | harpist for Kanye West | |
| 2007 | American Masters | Rose of Sharon | episode: Novel Reflections: The American Dream | |
| 2006 | Christmas in Rockefeller Center | herself | backup singer for Enya | |
| 2004 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | herself | 2 episodes | |
| 2004 | Broadway the American Musical | Sandra Mescal | episode: I Got Plenty o' Nuttin': 1929–1942 | |
| 2003 | Chappelle's Show | Pretty White Lady Singing | Episode 1.2, also wrote the music for the skit | |
| 1998 | Late Show with David Letterman | Lulu | ||
| 1998 | The 52nd Annual Tony Awards | Lulu | original Broadway cast of Cabaret | |
| 1998 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show | herself | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | 60 Minutes | herself/The Devil's Bride in Randy Newman's Faust | episode: TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews | |
| 1997 | Macy's 21st Annual Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular | Kate Mullins | ||
| 1997 | The 51st Annual Tony Awards | Kate Mullins | original Broadway cast of Titanic | |
| 1992 | Another World | Annie | appeared in 7 episodes |
| Year | Production | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Urinetown | Hope, Little Sally (understudy)[24] | Henry Miller Theater, original cast | |
| 1998 | Cabaret | Lulu[25] | Roundabout, Henry Miller Theater, original cast, directed by Sam Mendes | |
| 1997 | Titanic | Kate Mullins[26] | Lunt-Fontanne, original cast |
| Year | Production | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | First Fairy/Robin Starveling | Classic Stage Company, starring Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony Heald, Christina Ricci | |
| 2010 | Lincoln Center's South Pacific | Harpist, Rehearsal Pianist | 1st National Tour (Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, etc.) | |
| 2010 | Lil's 90th | Musical Director | Long Wharf Theater, starring Lois Smith | |
| 2008 | Lil's 90th | Deirdre | Sundance Theater Lab, starring Lois Smith | |
| 2006 | The Fantasticks | Harpist | The Jerry Orbach Theater, Snapple Theater Center, the Off-Broadway revival | |
| 2006 | The Difficulty of Crossing a Field | Mrs. Williamson | Ridge Theater, Alexander Kasser Theater opera | |
| 2004 | People Are Wrong! | Teri | Vineyard Theatre | |
| 2002 | When It's Cocktail Time in Cuba | Anya | Cherry Lane Theatre | |
| 2001 | Largo | Leila | New York Stage and Film, also starring Cyndi Lauper, Fisher Stevens | |
| 2000 | Spring Awakening | Ilse | Sundance Theater Lab | |
| 2000 | Night Governess | Chloe | McCarter Theater, world premiere | |
| 1999 | A Little Night Music | Petra | Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Great Lakes Theater Festival | |
| 1996 | Between the Sheets | Lilly | Playwright's Collective, world premiere, by Eduardo Machado | |
| 1995 | Randy Newman's Faust | The Devil's Bride | Goodman Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, and American Place Theater (Lincoln Center workshop) | |
| 1994 | Rent | Brenda, Blockbuster Woman, student | New York Theatre Workshop | |
| 1994 | Night of the Hunter | Ruby | Vineyard Theatre | |
| 1993 | Honkytonk Highway | Jenine-Kate | Don't Tell Mama, Goodspeed-at-Chester, won Bistro Award |