Alyssa Payne is a New York–based composer, performer, and storyteller whose music finds humor in heartbreak and hope in exhaustion. With a grand piano as her co-star, Payne blends sharp wit, emotional honesty, and theatrical flair into songs that feel both hilariously specific and universally human. Her work—ranging from her viral “YouTube Tuesdays” to sold-out shows at Joe’s Pub—blurs the line between stand-up comedy and musical confession. Drawing comparisons to Sara Bareilles, Bo Burnham, and Rachel Bloom, Payne captures the modern artist’s chaos with biting humor and surprising tenderness. Whether she’s singing about burnout, bad mentors, or falling in love at the wrong time, her music reminds audiences to laugh, cry, and—above all—keep writing.
Alyssa Payne’s one-woman musical Extra Crispy—a comedic exploration of burnout and artistic survival—has garnered over 9 million views online and sold out multiple performances at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Payne is the composer and lyricist of The F Word, a coming-of-age musical about the foster care system, currently in development with Goodspeed. Her recent credits include composing Broadway’s Never Been More Alive, a commissioned Tony Awards opening number for Theatrely, and a collaboration with Mattel. A graduate of The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, Payne has built a devoted following of over 300,000 across social platforms by doing what she does best—finding humor in heartbreak and music in the mess of being human.