So a week after I did my radio show on women in music I've discovered in the past couple years, I found a musician who rivals them all. I'd just bought a few cds from considerably bigger names--musicians who had some in with popular culture (movies, national publications, etc.)--and here's a cute, quiet 22-year-old playing a college show who just floors me...Her name is Haley Bonar, and her music is incredible. She has a beautiful, soft, and mature voice, and her songwriting is honest, lyrical, and intimate.
Apparently she started playing at bars and clubs around her home town of Sioux Falls, SD, when she was just 15, and she released her first LP, entitled "...The Size of Planets," in 2003 when she was 19. She has since dropped out of the U at Duluth and has been touring extensively, playing alongside some pretty big names (Mason Jennings, Arcade Fire, and many more), and released another album, "Lure the Fox" last year.
She's recorded both of these in the twin cities area, so she plays a lot of shows at the Minneapolis/St. Paul venues. I highly recommend seeing her live; she has this striking ability to pull you in so that it seems like you are the only one she's singing to. Her sound is right on, utilizing two types of guitar, keyboard, and backed by a drummer, and bassist / vocalist. Granted, her music is probably better for some occasions/moods than others, as a friend of mine suggested, but she's just really, really good, and deserves to be checked out.
Go to her official website to see news, tour dates, discography, photos, press links, and most importantly, to hear some of her songs streamed: listen to the beautifully poetic "Hawaii," the twangier "Drinking Again," the longlingly commiserate "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy," and the haunting, incredible "Car Wreck."
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Haley Bonar
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2 comments:
eh... i met her once at my work. and i've seen her play once, at the hole, with a friend of mine who also adores her.
not impressed, to be honest. i think she's talented, has a great voice, but this is the problem i have with her: she seems a little too arrogant for as boring as her music is.
maybe its shyness that gives her that snobby quality. i dont know. but even i would dismiss that if her music was truly amazing.
That's interesting you say that, Keisha. Because I thought the same thing after I met her. I complimented her show and asked her a few questions about where she'd be playing in the upcoming months, and she seemed really arrogant, like that was the last thing she wanted to be doing.
But I still love her music, particularly her debut...I think I was so wrapped up in that that I chose to neglect her personality.
On that, does that matter? Would I like Dave Matthews's music any less if I knew he were a complete asshole? (which I've heard, and I refuse to believe). I don't know.
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