About Charming Disaster
photo: Krys Fox
Brooklyn-based musical duo Charming Disaster was formed in 2012 by Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris. Inspired by the gothic humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the murder ballads of the Americana tradition, and the dramatic flair of the cabaret, they write songs that tell stories, using two voices to explore dark narratives and characters with a playfully macabre sensibility.
In their critically acclaimed albums Love, Crime & Other Trouble (2015), Cautionary Tales (2017), SPELLS + RITUALS (2019), Our Lady of Radium (2022), and Super Natural History (2023), Charming Disaster has explored love, death, crime, folklore, mythology, magic, science, and the occult. In Charming Disaster’s theatrical live performances, they combine vocal harmonies and clever lyrics with ukulele, guitar, and virtuosic foot percussion, drawing listeners into a spooky, offbeat universe of paranormal romance, con artists, circus performers, and ancient mythology, playing out against a backdrop of nightclubs, car chases, circus tents, the afterlife, and beyond.
Charming Disaster’s music has been featured on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale, they have opened for legendary cello-rock ensemble Rasputina, goth icon Voltaire, and punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, and their theatrical, entertaining live performances have captivated audiences across the United States. They have played festivals, bars and clubs, museums and art galleries, bookstores and libraries, and the occasional historic cemetery. They have appeared alongside storytellers, comedians, fire eaters, puppets, burlesque artists, poets, and circus performers. Recent appearances include Joe's Pub at The Public Theater in NYC, Brooklyn’s historic Green-Wood Cemetery, the Rochester Fringe Festival, Philadelphia’s Science History Institute, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, VA, Cleveland’s Wizbang Circus Theatre, and the Coney Island Sideshow stage.