Jenee Halstead

Halstead’s musical journey began on the West Coast, in Spokane, Washington where she grew up the daughter of hippies who gave her the freedom to explore music in ways that were meaningful to her - from ditching traditional piano lessons for improvised writing to traveling with a choir that performed Gregorian chant music. She traveled across the country to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, but she quickly realized that her real education was going to come from immersing herself in clubs and venues in Boston and Cambridge. Diving into the folk music scene, she sharpened her skills and began to explore her unique sound that draws on influences ranging from Patty Griffin to PJ Harvey and Dolly Parton. And like any great songwriter, Halstead takes threads from these influences and weaves them into her own, beautiful set of stories.

Halstead’s fifth album, set to be released in the late spring of 2020, ‘Disposable Love’ showcases her versatility. Her work with producer Dave Brophy- whom she describes as her “musical soul brother”- has sent her sound on a bigger and pop driven trajectory. The songs hold up a mirror to our current societal challenges, reflecting some of the biggest issues we are facing: artificial intelligence, climate change and rapid technological advancement in a post moral world. The title track rocks with a tremolo surf guitar sound as her vocals lament the throw-away society we are steeped in and the addiction to meaningless “likes” in the age of social media. “I want to write and create art around the things are plaguing our subconscious and conscious minds. I’m approaching [songwriting] now from an onus of responsibility.”

As Jed Gottlieb from The Boston Herald writes, “Halstead’s original material feels like sorceress music, holy music, but for druids and faerie folk with an aesthetic both heavenly and earthly.” In a sea of songwriters, Jenee Halstead stands out. Not just because of her dreamlike and alluring voice, but because she writes about meaningful and relatable subjects, while keeping her music accessible and honest.