Sarah Banker is a heartfelt singer/songwriter based in the mountains of Colorado. Drawing inspiration from her childhood experiences performing in theatrical productions, Sarah found her true voice through songwriting after learning guitar, following her degree in Cultural Anthropology.
After only three months of playing, she had her first guitar performance. Instantly hooked, 18 months later, she sold most of her belongings and set out on the road with just a backpack and her guitar.
Her journey of exploration and curiosity has taken her from the jungles of Hawaii to the forests of the Pacific Northwest, down to the deserts of southern Utah, and up to the peaks of Colorado—each place influencing her musical releases and touching others along the way.
Her new EP, Into the Heart, is a collection of authentic and transformative songs centered around resilience. The vibrant four-song folk-pop EP was recorded and produced by Jeff Franca (Thievery Corporation) in his studio, at 9,000' feet elevation in the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. The result is a musical journey that is touching, sonically playful, and organic.
Sarah Banker's ability to capture the complexity of emotions in simple yet expressive lyrics is a consistent strength across her music. Her songs feel both universal and deeply personal, inviting listeners to reflect, heal, and embrace what’s to come.
Ultimately, her musical intention is to be a source of light and love through sound. She also hopes her music inspires others to be the best version of themselves, sharing, "You are the ONE, the one who has the potential to make the changes that lead to a fulfilling life experience. You have everything you need within you to take charge of your life."
「Before You I Just Forget」、既発シングル「It's Amazing to Be Young」、「Starburster」とデヴィッド・リンチの "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) "のマッシュアップだ。
新曲 "Before You I Just Forget "は話し言葉のようなリフレインと、ストリングス・パートとコーラス・ギターのアルペジオで彩られたメロディックな間奏のバランスをとることによって、これを実現している。
「Before You I Just Forget」について、バンドのコナー・カーリーは、この曲は "本当にぶっ飛んだサウンド、聴くたびに明らかになる新しいディテールでヘヴィーに変化するようなサウンド "というビジョンから始まったと語っている。 最終的な形では、この曲は "変容し、変化する"。 最後に、彼は "グリアン・チャッテンによる素晴らしいストリングスパート"を称賛した。
The WAEVE(グラハム・コクソンとローズ・エリナー・ドーガルによるプロジェクト)が3曲入りEP「Eternal」をTransgressiveよりリリースしました。本作はデジタルの限定発売。試聴はこちらから。
ジェームス・フォード（Fontaines D.C)がプロデュースを手がけた3曲入りEP「Eternal」は、バンドが高評価を得た2枚のアルバム『The WAEVE』（2023年）と『City Lights』（2024年）に続く作品。エレクトロ・ シンセのどよめきと抗いがたいトップラインが印象的な推進力のあるリードシングル「Love Is All Pain」、「It's The Hope That Kills You」、そして、冬から春への移ろいを的確に反映したダークでロマンチックなタイトルトラック「Eternal」が併録されている。
16th March - St. Luke’s, Glasgow 18th March - Academy 2, Manchester 19th March - The Leadmill, Sheffield (SOLD OUT) 20th March - KOKO, London 21st March - Trinity, Bristol 22nd August - Colchester Castle Summer Series (w/ JAMES) 24th August - Victorious Festival, Portsmouth
Queer singer/songwriter Heather May's two albums, WHAT THEY HID FROM ME (alternative) and KISS & TELL (pop), are of interest.
The artist isn’t just writing songs—she’s writing revolutions. A genre-defying artist-activist, she fuses the grit of alternative rock, the infectious hooks of indie pop, and the storytelling depth of folk to craft anthems for the outsiders, the survivors, and the seekers of radical joy. Her music is an unflinching mirror reflecting the raw realities of mental health, queer liberation, survivor empowerment, and the fight for justice.
メイがリリースした『WHAT THEY HID FROM ME』（オルタナティヴ）と『kiss & tell』（ポップ）は、清算であり再生でもある画期的な2枚組アルバム・プロジェクトだ。 これらのレコードは、学び直しの痛み、自己発見の炎、そして堂々と生きることの自由に飛び込んでいく。 ナッシュビルに住む女性とノンバイナリー・ミュージック・メーカーたちによって制作されたこれらの作品は、音楽以上のムーブメントである。
生々しく、騒々しく、そして深く内省的な『WHAT THEY HID FROM ME』は、メイにとってこれまでで最も素直な作品だ。
ZDANがプロデュースし、グラミー賞受賞者のアリソン・ラッセルと強力デュオのシスタストリングスを含む女性バンドをフィーチャーしたこのアルバムは、宗教的トラウマ、サバイバル、回復力を探求している。 "What I Know Now "は、同意と自責の念を解きほぐす痛切なサバイバー賛歌であり、"All's Not Lost "は鬱との日々の戦いをフォーク・ロックのカタルシスに変える。
「Black Lives Do」は、パートナーが黒人である人物の視点から書かれた、人種的正義への痛切な呼びかけである。 アメリカーナ、アルト・ロック、生々しいストーリーテリングが容赦なくブレンドされた『WHAT THEY HID FROM ME』は、過去との決別であり、真実を取り戻そうとする人々の叫びでもある。
『WHAT THEY HID FROM ME』が清算だとすれば、『kiss & tell』は反逆である。 メイとナッシュヴィルのポップ・マスターマインド、ロリーズ（ティンバランド、ヘイリー・ウィリアムス）が共同プロデュースしたこのアルバムは、クィアの喜びと率直な愛を祝福するものだ。 「テイク・イット・スロー」は、ATLのヤニ・B・フライのラップ・ヴァースをフィーチャーしたR&B風の官能性を漂わせ、「シュック」と「オード・トゥ・ジョイ」は、両手を挙げてクィアの幸福感を爆発させる。
しかし、ヘザー・メイはただ音楽を作っているのではなく、スペースを作っているのだ。 両アルバムとも、ギタリストからエンジニア、プロデューサー、カメラマンに至るまで、すべて女性とノンバイナリーの音楽制作者たちによって制作された。 すべての音、すべての歌詞、すべての選択は、疎外された声を傍観し続ける業界に対する反抗の行為である。 「WHAT THEY HID FROM ME』と『kiss & tell』は単なるアルバムではない。
Heather Mae isn’t just writing songs—she’s writing revolutions. A genre-defying artist-activist, she fuses the grit of alternative rock, the infectious hooks of indie pop, and the storytelling depth of folk to craft anthems for the outsiders, the survivors, and the seekers of radical joy. Her music is an unflinching mirror reflecting the raw realities of mental health, queer liberation, survivor empowerment, and the fight for justice.
Mae has released "WHAT THEY HID FROM ME" (alternative) and "kiss & tell" (pop), a groundbreaking double album project that is both a reckoning and a reclamation. These records dive into the pain of unlearning, the fire of self-discovery, and the freedom of living unapologetically. Produced entirely by women and nonbinary music makers in Nashville, they are more than music—they are a movement.
Raw, raucous, and deeply introspective, "WHAT THEY HID FROM ME" is Mae’s most unfiltered work yet. Produced by ZDAN and featuring an all-female band—including Grammy winner Allison Russell and the powerhouse duo SistaStrings—the album explores religious trauma, survival, and resilience. "What I Know Now" is a gut-wrenching survivor anthem that unpacks consent and self-blame, while "All’s Not Lost" transforms the daily battle with depression into a folk-rock catharsis. "Black Lives Do" is a searing call for racial justice, written from the perspective of someone whose partner is Black. With an unrelenting blend of Americana, alt-rock, and raw storytelling, WHAT THEY HID FROM ME is a reckoning with the past and a rallying cry for those reclaiming their truth.
If "WHAT THEY HID FROM ME" is the reckoning, "kiss & tell" is the rebellion. Co-produced by Mae and Nashville’s pop mastermind Lollies (Timbaland, Hayley Williams), the album is a celebration of queer joy and unapologetic love. "take it slow" drips with R&B-infused sensuality featuring a rap verse from ATL’s Yani B Fly, while "shook" and "ode to joy" explode with hands-in-the-air queer euphoria. The breakout single, "Kissing Girls," released in June 2024, is both a bi-anthem and a love letter to LGBTQ+ folks who grew up in spaces where their queerness wasn’t an option.
But Heather Mae isn’t just making music—she’s making space. Both albums were created entirely by women and nonbinary music makers, from the guitarists to the engineers to the producers and photographers. Every note, every lyric, every choice is an act of defiance in an industry that continues to sideline marginalized voices. "WHAT THEY HID FROM ME" and "kiss & tell" aren’t just albums; they are declarations. Mae’s music is a fist in the air, a love letter to the misfits, and a battle cry for those who refuse to be erased. And with these two records, she’s making one thing clear: no matter what policies are passed or how hard they try to silence us—we are here, we are loud, and we are not going anywhere.
Award-winning singer, songwriter, and social justice warrior Crys Matthews will release new album, Reclamation.
The music video for the preceding single “Walking Up The Dead,” which combines classic gospel and country/folk music with the banjo in the performance, and a sample of the album are available.
"This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her.
Crys has received acclaim from the likes of Billboard and NPR whose Ann Powers called her "a rising folk music star". Crys Matthews has also received the award for Folk Alliance's Song of the Year.
A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An award-winning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. She is made for these times.
Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation adds, her gift is a "reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." In her own words, Matthews says her mission is: "to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice." Her new album is an embodiment of and a testament to that mission.
When Matthews attended a panel at Folk Alliance International in February of 2024, she heard a Scottish Folk artist inquire as to how many record labels pursue what the artist referred to as "music from my tradition," four words that intrigued Matthews. "I loved the idea of that. It seems like the best way to talk about music: what is your tradition, who are your people, what is the fabric of you?"
A daughter of the South by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, and the self-proclaimed poster child of intersectionality, Matthews is boldly answering those questions on her new album aptly titled Reclamation.
Recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Emporium Studios, Reclamation was produced by Levi Lowry (co-writer of Zac Brown Band's hit song Colder Weather). The project features her partner on and off stage Heather Mae, her friends and fellow singer-songwriters Kyshona, Melody Walker, and Chris Housman, and some of the best musicians in Music City like Megan Coleman, Megan Elizabeth McCormick, Ellen Angelico, Ryan Madora, Jen Gunderman, and Michael Majett.
"This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her.
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