-BACKSTORY-
“Writer song-singer” Heather Maloney found music when she wasn’t looking for it. During a three year stretch at silent meditation center in the woods of Central Massachusetts, her inspiration began germinating in groundwork laid by storytellers like Joni, Rilke, Ken Burns, and the anonymous authors of Zen parables. It took root in a journal that she kept throughout and between vows of silence—writing her way through the nuances of pain, love, grief and identity, and her curiosity about the nature of these very human conditions. That curiosity began to take shape in a handful of songs, which she shared within the meditation community. And though that that same curiosity eventually led her out of the quiet woods and into a frenetic international touring schedule, it remains at the very center of her music.
Indie-folk with an occasional touch of Americana, her genre-fluidity often lands her under the great umbrella of “Singer-Songwriter”. Her melodies are infused with pop sensibility but almost always a little outside of the box. One of Maloney’s signature lyrical superpowers is evoking a world of emotion in a few conversational words (“like a song, I can’t see you, but you move me just the same”). And while her writing can unflinchingly honest, it’s often delivered with a spoon full of sugar; she’ll write an infectious hook that houses a devastating line, or deceptively simple lyrics that reveals deeper layers of meaning with each listen.
-BIOGRAPHY-
With over 1,000 international shows and 9 studio albums under her belt, Heather’s collaborations have included some of her greatest influences; a duet with Dawes front-man Taylor Goldsmith on her Walt Whitman-inspired love song “We Were Together”, an appearance by Rachael Price on the album’s opening track “Enigma”, and Jay Ungar lends his legendary folk fiddle to “Oklahoma Lullaby”, a song inspired by Ken Burns’ documentary The Dustbowl. (Ungar composed Ashokan Farewell in Burns’ The Civil War). The Bluegrass Situation called her 2015 album, Making Me Break (produced by Band of Horses’ Bill Reynolds) “an intoxicating blend that captures the sonic texture of indie rock, the humanity of folk and the spirituality of a Rumi poem. Her collaborative EP with Boston quartet Darlingside, Woodstock, drew praise from the New York Times and Graham Nash.
Heather has toured both as a headliner and a support act throughout the US, Canada, Ireland, UK & Europe, sharing stages with Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves, Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams, Aoife O’Donovan, Sammy Rae & the Friends, Gary Clark Jr., Rodrigo y Gabriela, Colin Hay (Men at Work), Mary Chapin Carpenter, and many more.
Heather’s songs have played on NPR stations across the country and her live appearances have aired on popular syndicated programming like eTown and AudioTree and the legendary Mountain Stage. Her song “Nightstand Drawer” was featured in the season finale of the CBS TV series "Elementary", and her releases are streamed in the millions and have been on several editorial Spotify playlists & Starbucks’ in-store nationwide playlists.
As well as a songwriter and performer, Heather teaches songwriting and performance at her bi-annual Page to Stage day camp in Western Mass, and spends musch her time off the road as an illustrator and linocut artist, designing, carving and hand-printing a piece of art for almost every song she writes. (They can be found at the merch table at almost any of her live appearances)
“Lyrics that cut to the chase” – Huffington Post
“Utterly gorgeous – visceral.” – Val Haller, New York Times
“Her not-so-secret weapon is that voice ”– Boston Globe
“Delicious... really excellent” – Graham Nash
“...stunning, breathy, and starkly memorable.” – SPIN Magazine