Ziona Riley

Ziona Riley is a finger style guitarist, folk singer and songwriter living in Nashville, TN. A transplant from Bloomington, Ind., Riley fits neatly into Nashville’s abundant folk scene. She is a captivating performer with the uncanny ability to quiet noisy dive bars and convince listening rooms to group sing at her whim. Riley’s stage presence and style are preceded by her articulate and clever songs which often feel like short stories, brimming with unassuming wisdom and youthful melancholy.  Though she is a self-contained artist in her own right, some have compared her to chamber folk artists Vashti Bunyan and Nick Drake as well as offbeat singer songwriters like Connie Converse and Dory Previn.

A frequent “Critic’s Pick” in the Nashville Scene, Riley has shared bills in Nashville with world class touring artists including Josephine Foster, Lilly Hiatt, S.G. Goodman, and Darren Hanlon. She has completed multiple D.I.Y. tours in both Canada and the US, sharing stages along the way with notable artists including Bill Callahan, Little Mazarn, John Kiran Fernandes, and Jeff Crompton. The Nashville Scene listed Riley’s self-released “Not Too Precious” as one of the best local EPs of 2019, calling it “…a short collection of deeply thoughtful, impactful songs about family and contemporary society.” She is now recording her first full-length album with co-producer and longtime collaborator, the cellist and string arranger, Austin Hoke.