Heather Maloney

Massachusetts-based “writer song-singer” Heather Maloney found music in the midst of three years at a meditation center, honing a sound moored in days of silent reflection and reverence for storytellers like Joni, Rilke, Ken Burns, and the anonymous authors of Zen parables. While she eventually traded the quiet, structured life of a yogi for the kinetic life of a touring musician, the core of her songwriting has remained centered around same curiosity about our inner world and the desire to articulate it through storytelling.

With over 1,000 international shows and 8 studio albums under her belt, she is now on the brink of releasing her 9th and most personal record to date, “Exploding Star” (out January 31, 2025). Written in the wake of her father’s death, “Exploding Star” is a collection of 12 songs that Maloney originally had no intentions of recording or releasing until some of her closest friends and family convinced her otherwise.

From tracking for 2 days in her abandoned childhood home, to playing her father’s guitar throughout the record, “Exploding Star” is packed with the sonic, lyrical and emotional details of a life story — and the result is something celebratory and heartbreaking all at once.

With production from Darlingside’s Don Mitchell and arrangements from High Tea’s Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot, “Exploding Star” is a dynamic listening experience that moves thoughtfully through landscapes that range from lush to sparse — sometimes driving, urgent and cathartic and other times quiet, tremulous and reflective — but always woven together with lyricism that bravely and articulately explores both the darkest depths and the unexpected moments of lightness that grief can bring.

Heather and her collaborators will embark on an international album release tour throughout 2025, with shows in the US and Europe.

On Heather’s 2019 album, Soil In The Sky, her “ability to channel emotion is radical” (PopMatters) and the tracks are stacked with special guests who help her deliver an immense range of sound and sentiment in 12 songs; there’s a duet with Dawes front-man Taylor Goldsmith on the 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 all-star band includes drummer Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes), and multiple members of the Amos Lee band. 

The Bluegrass Situation called her 2015 release, 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.”

In 2014 she released “Woodstock”, her collaborative effort with Boston quartet Darlingside, which drew praise from the New York Times and Graham Nash.

Heather’s songs have played on NPR stations across the country and her live appearances have aired on syndicated programming like eTown and AudioTree. Her song “Nightstand Drawer” was featured in the season finale of the CBS TV series "Elementary", and her songs have also been streamed hundreds of thousands of times on editorial Spotify playlists & Starbucks’ in-store nationwide playlists.

As well as a songwriter and performer, Heather is an illustrator and linocut artist who carves and prints visual representations of her songs on a variety of mediums.

Heather has toured throughout the US & Canada as a headliner and also in support of acts including Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves, Gary Clark Jr., Rodrigo y Gabriela, Colin Hay (Men at Work), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams and many more.

Learn more at https://www.heathermaloney.com/

High Tea

High Tea, the y'alternative folk-punk duo hailing from Massachusetts, is a concoction of sweepingly soulful harmonies, guitar riffs to knock your socks off, and a refreshing blend of old blues and new rock. Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot have come together to fill spaces with homegrown storytelling and Lumineers-esque vocals. Their songs are ripe with americana heartbreak, and tell tales of growing up, going wild, and always coming back to the ones you love.

Their previous releases have been featured on playlists, radio shows, and publications like The Boston Globe, The Greenfield Recorder (among others). The title track of their EP Old Cowboy led them to be chosen as one of WBUR’s top 4 Massachusetts Tiny Desk entries of 2022. Their most recent full-length release, The Wick And The Flame, blended the ambience of groups akin to Bonny Light Horseman with harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, instrumentals that evoke memories of The White Stripes, and stories which build on the folkloric lineage of iconic writers such as the Indigo Girls - creating a new sound wholly unique to High Tea.

High Tea's newest release, the Scuba Diving EP, pushes into new territory while still maintaining their folk-Americana roots. It starts with "Whole Lotta Lovin," an energetic jam with darker undertones, a dynamic song about a mysterious and dangerous romance. The second track, "Elijah (Do It Now)," follows a boy stuck in the trench of generational hyper-masculine trauma, desperately wanting to leave. This is followed by "Bliss Don't Come Quick To Me," a diary entry, a talk with an old friend, the singer lamenting their frustration of quick-fix culture, with the feeling that true happiness is just out of reach. The finale is also the title track, an offering about the debilitating feeling of helplessness that can come with being close to someone on the brink of collapse, pleading desperately for them to "hold on to something."

Whether it’s swelling melodies or smooth harmonies, bluesy guitar licks or the driving beat of a bass drum, High Tea writes from the heart, and their songs are rooted in intimate personal experience yet strive to find the universal understandings of life that all audience members will be able to connect with. They invite listeners into their lives, and the worlds they've created. Come sit by the fire and find a piece of yourself in the music of High Tea

Learn more at https://www.highteaband.com/home