HALEY E RYDELL is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist
originally from Fargo, ND whose memorable melodies and honest lyrics have been
making their way across the country. Rydell has been performing for nearly 20 years
in a plethora of projects, most recently Ryan Necci & the Buffalo Gospel and The
Lowland Lakers. Although best known for her top-notch fiddle playing and her
Christine McVie-esque harmonies, the Minneapolis-based artist has been quietly
making a name for herself as a first-rate songwriter. Now, with the release of her solo
album Midwestern Daughter, she shows why her work has been called “Absolutely
gorgeous, like Patty Griffin sitting in with The Weepies” (Denver Westword).
Raised in Fargo, ND, Rydell started taking violin lessons at the age of three and
picked up the guitar at 13, teaching herself how to play. Influenced by the punk rock music on her discman and the music her parents
played in the car, she drew from James Taylor’s songwriting, Enya’s haunting melodies and Fleetwood Mac’s sophisticated rock
arrangements.
After spending a year at University of Minnesota in Duluth, Rydell went to Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN to study
music education. But she soon was spending much of her time writing songs.
“After being inspired by local female singer/songwriters
like Brenda Weiler and Angie Stevens, I wrote my very first song ‘Little Row of Boxes,
’” she says.
“A friend who was a music
engineering student asked me to record it with him for a school project. Then he asked if I could write 4 more songs so we could
record an EP as another project, so I did and we recorded my self-titled EP .
” A couple years later, she was asked to be the school’s
very first “Dragon Studios: Presents” artist, allowing her to record a full album at the school. In 2010 she made her first full-length
Before We Go as part of that program. It was the only solo album she ever recorded until now.
After graduating, she worked for several years at a fishing tackle shop in Fargo, playing on the weekends with the raucous bluegrass
outfit The Johnson Family Band. She also got married during this time.
“I married a man, not understanding that I was queer,
”
Rydell says.
“I didn’t know anyone who was gay. I didn’t really see lesbians in the media or in real life, so it didn’t really cross my
mind until I got out of my small town and saw that how I was living was not who I was.
”
She made the difficult decision to end her marriage and then moved to Denver, where she started making music with Angie Stevens,
digging into her songwriting and recording two albums together. Continuing to live her truth and pursue an authentic life, she moved
to the Twin Cities where her now-wife lived and worked as a theater artist.
She continued to make music, forming the folk/bluegrass trio The Lowland Lakers with former University of Minnesota classmate
Nate Case. It was through her work with the The Lowland Lakers that she met Ryan Necci and was asked to sing on Buffalo Gospel’s
record and play their album release show. She’s been a part of the band ever since.
During the last 10 years of making music with Buffalo Gospel and The Lowland Lakers and supporting some of the Midwest’s top
Americana talent, Rydell was quietly writing songs and occasionally performing them around the Twin Cities.
working with a band or as a supporting player, I realized I was kind of scared to take center stage,
” Rydell says.
“After so many years
“One day I realized I
just needed to trust myself and do it.
”
Realizing she sometimes shied away from writing love songs explicitly about loving women, she pulled together her most personal
songs, setting out to sing more honestly about her life. She put her pandemic break from touring to good use, shaping the songs and
recording with an all-star cast of players Grammy award-winning engineer Brian F. Joseph (Bon Iver, Indigo Girls), Kyle Keegan
(Watchhouse, Hiss Golden Messenger, Ben Howard), Dave Mehling (Gaelynn Lea, The Fontanelles), Matt Donoghue (The Lowland
Lakers) and her Buffalo Gospel bandmate Ryan Necci (Buffalo Gospel). Now, 20 years since that first album she made in college, she
releases Midwestern Daughter– a career-defining album proving that she is a powerhouse songwriter unafraid to tell her truth.
When not making music with her band or touring with Ryan Necci and Buffalo Gospel, Rydell enjoys cooking and spending time with
her wife and 4 year-old.