The 1999 album, Live in Vain by Mercy Velvet, exists on zero streaming platforms, and few people have heard it. But its legacy is as relevant as ever. The Mercy Velvet Project is a rock opera, a re-creation of the album. The work explores what makes us human, our collective need for community to survive—with musicians and dancers moving as one. Through nine songs, a queer and femme cast explore different barriers to experiencing love. Learning that by giving and receiving the gift of mercy, we are able to find the bridge to survival, wholeness, and hope. Over twenty years after the albums’ release, kamrDANCE and their collaborators expand upon its legacy through their personal identities and today’s political realities. The show tells the story of the album through tap dance as percussion, contemporary dance, original text, and instrumentation via bass, guitar, vocals, and electronics—highlighting our vulnerabilities, learning together how to find the antidote that is mercy, and in turn lead meaningful lives.

Live in Vain by Mercy Velvet is the music that Choreographer Alexis Robbins grew up with, the percussive rhythms and lyrics that inspired living room dances. Her father, Mark Robbins, was the drummer and co-composer for Mercy Velvet. Now, Alexis, Musical Director Christie Echols, and their collaborators bring Live in Vain to audiences for the first time.