Grace started her career singing at open mic days at the Bean Runner Café in Peekskill, New York, about a 40 min drive from Grace’s then home in Suffern. Grace’s mom Tina told a friend, Scarlett Antonia, that Grace was getting quite good at playing the ukulele, and Scarlet, who cohosted the open mic events, suggested that Grace should come and try it out. Scarlet also knew Grace from her participation (as a munchkin) in a local production of The Wizard of Ozz a few months earlier, that Scarlett was involved with. Scarlet and Ted, the owner of the Bean runner tell the story in this video.
Over a period of 19 months, Grace played at 16 open mic events, all but two at The Bean Runner. The other two were at Casa Del Sol – A Mexican restaurant in Nyack, New York, and the Defiant Brewing Company in Pearl River, New York. Both within a 20-minute drive from Suffern.
At both of these events and at one of the Bean Runner events, Grace was accompanied by her music theory teacher Dylan Kelehan (or Dylan Kay). He would also accompany her at the Ramapo summer concert in July 2016 (part of a concert series arranged by a college in New Jersey), and at the free concert for Grace’s fans, at the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, also in July. (both of these concerts took place after Grace’s AGT audition had aired in June). Dylan also cowrote the song ”The Differences Are the Point” with Grace.