Molly Plaisted

Biography

Molly Plaisted (they/them) is a rising Hartford-based drummer, composer, arranger, and educator. In 2022, Molly graduated with a BM in Jazz and Afro-American Music Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, studying under Jeffrey W. Holmes and Tom Giampietro. At UMass, Molly received the Fletcher Henderson/Max Roach Scholarship Award for their outstanding achievements in Jazz Studies; they were also the first non-binary center snare of the UMass Minuteman Marching Band under the direction of Thomas P. Hannum and Ian Hale.

Molly teaches the UMass Drumline and performs across New England as bandleader of .mp3 – The Molly Plaisted Trio at the Northampton Jazz Festival, Black Eyed Sally’s, and Dewey’s Jazz Lounge. Molly recently completed their role as the drummer/percussionist for the musical LIZZIE at TheaterWorks Hartford, a female and non-binary-centered production. As an artist and educator, they emphasize African-American music's history and uplift female, transgender, and non-binary artists in New England and beyond.