Tag Archives: Modern Mystery

02.01.22
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Aspen Jacobsen, the Up and Coming Folk and Country Talent Has Set Performance Dates Throughout Michigan

(Detroit, MI) January 27, 2022 – Ahead of her newest country inspired release, country and folk singer/songwriter Aspen Jacobsen announces her upcoming performances in 2022. “When I write a song, I start with a feeling—my main goal is to have a strong emotional exchange with the audience through my music,” shares Aspen. Not only is she a gifted guitar player, but she’s an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist who also plays bass, mandolin, piano, keyboard, and ukulele. She contributes these skills as an accompanist and arranger for other people’s songs. 

Although the year has just begun, Aspen has already been booked for multiple shows for 2022.  In February, she will be one of several singer-songwriters featured in the 2nd Annual Interlochen Singers & Songwriters showcase at the Traverse City Opera House, Traverse City Michigan. She is also one of six Interlochen singer-songwriting students that were selected to tour the Midwest together this spring between March 12th and 20th. The details haven’t been announced yet but will be posted on Aspen’s website before the tour. This summer, she will also be headlining her own show at the Trinity House Theatre on June 4th in Livonia Michigan and will be one of several musicians highlighted in Singers in the Round at The Parliament Room at Otus Supply in Ferndale, Michigan. She will also be playing some of Michigan’s most popular music festivals including No-East’r Music and Art Festival (6/10-12), Buttermilk Jamboree (6/17-19), and the Wheatland Music Festival (9/11-13).

Her new single, “Shouldn’t Give A Damn,” out now, is her take on toxic relationships in a modern country style, similar to Kacey Musgraves and an early Taylor Swift. The song will also be reimagined as a separate acoustic single later this year, featuring producer Dominic Davis on upright bass. “Shouldn’t Give a Damn” is the second release from Aspen’s 2022 limited-edition CD that is available for purchase on her website aspenjacobsen.com/music. She is only publishing 500 of these CDs and is personally signing and numbering each of them. For $40 fans will receive a CD while supporting her musical endeavors! These signed, limited edition CDs are planned to ship in August. 

Aspen Jacobsen’s Americana, Folk, and Country sounds are not one typically heard with artists as young as Aspen. She hopes to carry the traditions of this genre while also making it more palatable with her generation. 

Aspen previously explored musical theater, professional acting and opera, and these formative experiences may account for her polished onstage demeanor. She has played major music festivals in Michigan including Arts Beats and Eats; Wheatland Music Festival; Earthworks Harvest Gathering; Ann Arbor Summer Festival; and the Buttermilk Jamboree. She has also been invited to perform as an opener at premier Michigan listening rooms such as The Ark, 20 Front Street, Trinity House, and the Grand Rapids Listening Room. In 2019, Aspen was the youngest singer-songwriter to ever be featured in the Radio DJ Showcase at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest annual conference. 

Where and When You Can See Apsen This Year:
2/3/22 2nd Annual Interlochen Singers & Songwriters at Traverse City Opera House, Traverse City, Michigan
3/12 to 3/20/22 Interlochen Singer-Songwriters Midwest Tour (details will be announced on Aspen’s website)
6/4/2022 Aspen Jacobsen @ Trinity House Theatre, Livonia, Michigan
6/11/22 No-East’r Music and Art Festival, Mio, Michigan
6/18/22 Buttermilk Jamboree, Circle Pines Center, Delton, Michigan
7/12/22 The Parliament Room at Otus Supply Singers in the Round, Ferndale, Michigan
9/10/22 Wheatland Music Festival, Remus, Michigan

As she prepares, she’s also writing new music amidst her bustling life as a 17 year old musician, balancing school, recording sessions, rehearsals, and applying to colleges. “Sometimes I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and see guitar string marks ingrained on my face,” she quips. “But I know who I am, and I know what path I’m on. Every time I perform, I pour out my heart and soul and I feel my purpose.”

More About Aspen Jacobsen
At just 9 years of age, Aspen found her purpose while busking for tips with a little red ukulele. Since then, the prodigiously gifted musician has earned awards and scholarships; has actively released EPs and singles; and she has performed at a variety of well-respected venues and festivals. Today, Aspen furthers a variety of Americana styles through a series of personal and purposeful singles.

Her story exudes classic Americana mysticism. Aspen bought a guitar purchased from busking, and, although she had your typical parents-mandated piano lessons previously, she immediately took to playing roots music on stringed instruments like it was fated. “I have no idea where it came from—something just clicked within me,” she says. She learned the basics by ear—a method that works for her today—and, at the age of 10, began songwriting. Soon after, Aspen was performing at listening rooms and festivals and was awarded multiple scholarships for her astounding musicality. 

To date, Aspen has released two critically acclaimed EPs, and her songs have garnered prime recognition and nominations from such prominent songwriting competitions as the Independent Music Awards; Alternative Country Best Song Category; Blues & Roots Radio’s Song Contest; and International Songwriting Competition’s Teen Category. Aspen was awarded a scholarship to attend the Singer-Songwriter program at the Interlochen Arts Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding fine arts high schools in the United States.  Most recently, Aspen has the distinction of being one of six singer-songwriter finalists in the YoungArts 2022 program, a competition which receives more than 7000 applications per year.  She also holds sponsorships with Fishman, Reunion Blues gig bags and instrument cases, and Shubb Capos.

As of late, Aspen has been recording in Nashville and consistently releasing new songs which feature personal perspectives on social issues. The first single in this new project of songs is “Damned Dynasty,” a smoldering dose of indie-folk with tasteful melodic blues-guitar licks, an ear-worm vocal motif, and vocals that veer from honeyed low-tones to soaring high-tones. The minimalist production here leaves ample room to soak in Aspen’s insights on faith and religion. Her first verse is viscerally thought-provoking.

Aspen tells stories like a country artist and speaks her mind like a folk musician. Her personal and progressive original songs recall the approach of Joni Mitchell, and Ani DiFranco—two artists steeped in music history but not bound to it.


Aspen Jacobsen: Website // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

01.28.22
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Lauren Waller’s New Single is Giving Us a Musical Rush

Los Angeles based pop artist, Lauren Waller, just released a new single that is sure to keep you coming back for more. “Dopamine” is the song we didn’t know we needed. This dark and textured pop song has a Lorde vibe in the music itself, yet her vocals are very much like Ingrid Michaelson. Her intimate and poetic lyrics in a song about a failed love story has an interesting relationship with the music. She manages to create this interesting space where the music makes the listener feel distant and disconnected, yet the lyrics tell a familiar story.

“Dopamine” is harmonic and melodic while also having an ere of dissonance to show the disconnect between these two people who are not really in love. She gets you moving and singing along while also making you feel out of place. It’s masterful.

Listen to “Dopamine”:

Lauren Waller has already had a strong career in music. Her resume includes performing on RTE, Ireland’s National Television, at the International Rose of Tralee Festival, and appearances at the Viper Room and the Hotel Café. She’s even opened for many iconic bands such as Wilson Philips, Anna Nalick, A Flock of Seagulls, and most recently: Tower of Power. She was set to open for KT Tunstall prior to COVID-19, but the show has since been postponed.

Her collection of work includs two EPs, a Christmas cover song, and a collection of original singles! Her latest EP—her second overall— no names here, blurs the line between the observational and the personal. Themes of relationships course through the five-song EP, and, in tone and lyrical content, Lauren expresses raw truths without feeling the need to tilt narratives in the way of happy endings. no names here is rife with stunning songs that whisk the listener away to sonic hemispheres replete with dizzying sensual vocals, undeniable pop hooks, and sleek electro-tinged atmospherics. Since releasing her second EP, Waller has shared a collection of singles that follow similar tones of mystery and edge, but also embracing the voices, accepting lost love, and playfully toying with the object of her affections.

Most recently, Lauren has shared new singles that mark a stepping stone in Lauren’s arc as a growing writer and singer; Lauren’s has entered this enlightened era with both confidence and swagger in her singles titled “Night Stalker” and “Best Coast.” “Night Stalker” is a sickly-sweet pop single featuring an edgy beat and sinister lyrics that are punctuated with slasher-esque references and harmonies. Between the lyrics, the melodies, and the production: Night Stalker melds culturally relevant, chilling horror with an up-tempo urban dance track. “Best Coast” is a summer anthem highlighting the party lifestyle that some know all too well in California. The lyrics poke fun with a fresh take on party culture. “Best Coast” is reminiscent of catchy 2000s hip hop and pure pop. The beats and production make “Best Coast” catchy, danceable, and relatable because we all know that in California, we like to party.

You can find Lauren Waller via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // TikTok //  Spotify // Soundcloud

01.26.22
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“To Say Goodbye” is the Cinematic Pop Song That Brings Hope To Adoptees

Pianist, violinist, composer, recording artist, and singer/songwriter, Ferera Swan is the voice for those who feel the same sort of pain and grief. As an adult child of adoption, Ferera is a beacon of hope for other adult children of adoption, using music to guide them and others through the feelings of grief, pain, suffering, shame, secrecy, and generational trauma. Her poignant lyrics and her cinematic inspiration is what makes her unique. In the past 3 years, she changed her name to reflect her Filipino-American heritage and the identities of her birth parents. In doing so, she is celebrating her cultural identity and acknowledging her painfully complex birth story.

Her epiphany has happened many years into her music career. One way to think of this new music era is as if Ferera Swan is a new artist 15 years in the making. To date, she has written, arranged, and engineered music for other artists in varying genres, and she has worked as a session musician in a variety of contexts.

Her new cinematic pop single “To Say Goodbye” takes that grief and puts it in the forefront of the song. She saying that it’s ok to not be ok, that this sort of pain is normal, and you are not alone. Her voice is like Kelly Clarkson, it’s soulful and purposeful. “It’s easy to dismiss people’s pain, but it takes a kind of bravery to be curious,” shares Ferera.‘”To Say Goodbye’ is an invitation of empathy: May we have the courage to empathize with another’s grief that we will never understand; that in doing so, we may discover deep empathy for our own.”

Listen to “To Say Goodbye” here:

On this song, her lyrics come from a place of strength and self-awareness hard fought from years of pain and confusion. She shares some insight, saying “Some of our greatest gifts can be found in our deepest pain. Through allowing myself to explore what hurts, I’ve found purpose, self-compassion, and the meaning of courage.”

You can find Ferera Swan via:

Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

01.26.22
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AP Tobler’s New Music is Authentically Them

AP Tobler uses their own life as a guide for their music. Unlike many musicians out there, you can hear their passion and intimacy with the music, not just the words. We can hear their rawness and vulnerability in their work, allowing the listeners in and feeling along with them. AP Tobler is authentic and that’s what makes them, and their music, so amazing.

Their newest single, “Eclipse” was too big for a single song, so they gave us “Blunt Force,” the single that lives on the B-side. “Blunt Force” is the perfect companion piece to “Eclipse,” a grungy rock song that sounds like Nirvana meets Green Day. “Eclipse” This song is a personal one for AP that most people been through. It describes the way trauma affects our minds and bodies in the music. “Eclipse is about the mental block that comes with suffering a past trauma,” shares AP. “I wrote this song while I was replaying painful events in my head. I was sick of feeling upset over things that had happened years ago. When I write music about personal experiences, the lyrics and melody tend to come together very quickly. This is the case with Eclipse. I was actually on a phone call with friends and started feeling anxious. In the middle of the call, I opened my Notes app and started typing fragments of lyrics about how I was feeling.”

The companion piece, “Blunt Force,” is about a time in which a close friend to AP just left, suddenly and unexpectedly. There was no notice, they were just no longer friends with no explanation. This grunge song depicts this experience and the repercussions it had on AP. “After two years without resolution, I finally wrote a song to express the lingering emotions I was feeling,” says AP. “One night I picked up my guitar and wrote a cord progression that I liked. I started to write the lyrics and within 30 minutes I had a melody and lyrics to represent the emotions of this painful experience. I refined the song over a few sessions, adding layers to fill it out. The writing process was cathartic, as I had encapsulated this traumatic event into a song.”

Listen to “Eclipse” and the B-Side “Blunt Force” here:

You can find AP Tobler via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

12.22.21
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Charlie Castell’s New Original Christmas Song is The Joy and Peace We All Need This Christmas

English-born indie pop-rock singer/songwriter, now based in Los Angeles, writes his songs with a deep meaning being it. He fuses the guitar driven styles of artists like Radiohead and Oasis, the acoustics and orchestrations of Damien Rice and Ed Sheeran, with the classical songwriting of Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Burt Bacharach.

Inspired by love and seeing the world around him, his Christmas song, “We’ll Have a Christmas,” has a “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” meets “Last Christmas” meets “Merry Xmas (The War is Over)” vibe to it. “We’ll Have a Christmas” was born from the pandemic, after Charlie noticed all the injustice, hate, and anger the world began to grow, but specifically the United States.

“Over the last four years, I’ve got more and more involved with work to make the US a more loving and tolerant place; to elect leaders who make policies that help people,” shares Charlie. “For those of us working in this space, it’s been so hard to find peace, when so many public figures are just trying to create anger and hate. Add to that a global pandemic, and we’ve lived through maybe the most difficult years of our lives. I wanted a song that brought back the lovely warm feelings of Christmas, and gave people the freedom to relax and find peace again at the end of another very difficult and tragic year. That no matter what was going on, we could come together and find peace at Christmas.”

Listen here:

Charlies hope to spread peace and love throughout this country and the world by way of his music. The pandemic has made everyone’s lives more difficult already. He encourages others to feel joy during this holiday season. Listen to “We’ll Have a Christmas” now.

You can find Charlie Castell via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud

11.30.21
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YV Ministry Uses Music as a Spiritual Tool of Love and Connection

C-Aye and Kelley Nicole are the musical duo that makes up YV Ministry, born out of their musical worship work at Covenant Blessing Fellowship (CBF) in Wilmington, CA. While they’re a Christian duo, hoping to spread God’s love and feeling His spirit through music, these two accomplished artists have years of musical experience under their belts. C-Aye has worked for or shared the stage with such acclaimed producers and artists as Aaron Lindsey, Pop/R&B group All-4-One, Poo Bear, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, Claude Deuce, Twinkie Clark, India.Arie, Hip-Hop and R&B hit writers Nate Dogg, Devine Evans, David “DQ” Quiñones, and more. As for Kelley Nicole, she was once a lead vocalist for the critically-acclaimed Afro-funk band, Soulfège, and has performed around the world. She’s even shared the stage with renowned artists Bobby McFerrin and El Debarge.

Their new single, “Glory and Honor,” is an R&B gospel and worship song with a message of love and spirituality. It was in a time of prayer that the song came to C-Aye. “I was thinking about the principle of keeping yourself focused on glorifying God, and if the work that you’re trying to do in life is honoring God, it keeps you on the path of that perspective. The perspective that glory & honor belong to God. The more we put effort into other stuff, the easier we split into distraction and the like,” says C-Aye. The overall message: life is simple when you stay focused on giving Glory & Honor to the one and only God.

“Glory and Honor” was a collaboration with the amazing Trey McLaughlin, a vocalist, producer, composer, and educator. He recognizes the beauty and fusing of sounds and genres to everyone a unique experience.

Listen here:

C-Aye’s musical journey began around age 11, when he first got involved with the music ministry in his home town of Augusta, GA. Thrown into the fire as he often says, he was a sought after music ministry leader at a young age, having either played for or led several music ministries “Some kind of way I got fascinated by piano,” says C-Aye. “I was so young it’s tough to remember. There was a lady that came to my elementary school and she had kiddie instruments and I remember being fascinated by it and really enjoying it. I started taking lessons. And pretty much any chance I got to make music I took it. Band, competitions at school, etc.” As he got older he had different experiences with people showing him technology and as he learned more about that he fell in love with production & engineering. When he moved to LA he moved with a bunch of people that had gone to the Berklee School of Music, and he learned that he didn’t know quite as much as he thought he did! That was the beginning of what he calls his “professional awakening.”

Kelley Nicole started playing piano in 1st grade in Teanack, New Jersey, but really fell in love with music and singing around the 4th grade when she surprised even herself by taking on the lead in a school play. She realized how important an outlet singing was for her, a girl who was pretty shy and found it hard to express herself fully to others. Regardless of that love however, academics and athletics were the focus for her in high school and she eventually was admitted to Harvard University. Most folks see Harvard as a place that develops people’s career interests in the law, medicine, or business. For Kelley Nicole, her love for music was rekindled and grew even bigger during her tenure there. It was in her senior year that she decided she needed to make music her career, someway or somehow. She was able to become a lead vocalist of the Afro-funk band, Soulfège. At one point, the group had one of the top 5 music videos in the country of Ghana, joining the likes of Usher and Beyonce at the time. Soulfege had a management opportunity in Los Angeles, which brought Kelley Nicole to LA, where she met C-Aye, at Covenant Blessing, where she had to audition for him.


That meeting sparked a life-long friendship. When Kelley Nicole decided to leave Soulfège, C-Aye helped her kick-start her solo work. Now together, using music as their chosen vessel, Kelley Nicole and C-Aye’s vision is to make YV Ministry a space where anyone can surrender themselves to the presence of God, and feel comforted, confident, and empowered by His everlasting love, covering, and supernatural guidance.

You can find YV Ministry via:
Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud