Heather Shayne Blakeslee
Strangers Rapping Softly on the Window
Heather Shayne Blakeslee is an American songwriter with a long past. Hiding in the brambles of her family trees are a grandfather who sang in the church choir and another who played squeezebox in the family band; bible beaters and Native Americans; teetotalers and drunks; stories of unnaturally long and robust lives, and others of early deaths in suspicious mine blasts. It’s fitting that one translation of her last name means ‘dark woods’ in Old English—it’s her ability to listen to all those voices as she roams around in shadowy groves that makes her a standout songwriter, adept at folk, blues, and country.

As a performer, it’s her own voice that draws people in. It’s been described as “honey-toned,” “luxurious,” “molasses,” and “downright seductive” by a bevy of reviewers. Blakeslee now has three recordings to her name: 2002’s well-received Bones, the never-officially-released Treon’s Cut Rate, and Mercy Mountain, a three song EP of voice and guitar. Her song "Mrs. D." from Treon's Cut Rate also appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of the literary magazine Gargoyle, which annually includes a CD of music with its journal. In 2008, she’ll be recording the beginnings of an EP with her all-female old-timey country quartet, The Estelles, and just finished another demo with Philadelphia roots group The Superhumble Country Band.

Blakeslee’s unexpected musical life started in 1996 when she walked away from her college graduation with a degree in English, a degree in Philosophy, and guitar stolen from her father’s closet, all of three of which she put to use in New York City. She slowly learned to play, and then in 2001 she recorded her debut at the request of a growing fan base. Blakeslee enlisted the help of musician and producer Jimi Zhivago, and orginal member of the gospel band Ollabelle. The pair recorded and mixed ten songs in just five days, producing 2002’s spare and eloquent album Bones.

Select AAA radio stations around the country picked up the record, and started spinning Blakeslee next to other artists drenched in roots music: Gillian Welch, Mary Gauthier, Tracey Grammer, and Kris Delmhorst. In 2002 when Blakeslee officially released the record, she earned the number three spot on a CD Baby Top-Seller album, which showcased her work alongside artists like indie-favorite Melissa Ferrick. She toured the Northeast in support of the album, sharing the stage along the way with rising folk luminaries Edie Carey, Ina May Wool, and Pamela Means, and her performances, says Long Island Music Scene, are “always something to write home about.”

Critics nailed the mood of Bones by comparing it to “the smell of Autumn,” (Splendid E-zine) and called the characters of her tightly woven narratives, “strangers rapping softly on the window.” (Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA).)

Demorama called Blakeslee’s debut “striking in its non-intrusiveness...the songs are subtle, intelligent, and observant narratives that bring together issues, personal dramas, and character studies to form a tapestry of mood woven by Blakeslee’s mature, downright seductive voice. Recorders, observers, and commentators on real American life are needed, and Blakeslee shows plenty of potential to become an important contributor. ”

Jimi Zhivago worked with Blakeslee again on Treon’s Cut Rate. Like her first album, Blakeslee’s sophomore effort is populated with shadows and infused with the same scent of autumn nights, but it shows her stretching musically. The hints of blues, country, and pop that characterized Bones are more refined, and back porch serenades that feature voice, guitar, and dobro are nestled next to fully-fleshed out pop tunes with drum kits and electric guitars.

What’s Up Magazine in Boston, MA says the release is, “as intimate as a lullaby and as gritty as a roadhouse band.” “Pop this in,” they say, “the next time you’re cruising down route 66.”

The theme of loss still runs throughout the songs on Treon’s Cut Rate, but there is more redemption here too: people who have struggled are picking up and moving on—much like Blakeslee has done.

The move from post 9/11 New York was a rough one, and Blakeslee took almost two years off from playing shows. She spent part of the time in a small stone cottage on Stone Hollow Farm in rural Pennsylvania as she finished production on Treon's Cut Rate, but still wasn't writing new songs. Then Blakeslee had two serendipitous meetings in local stores with Kerrville-award winning songwriter Jackie Tice, who began mentoring her. Over following months, Blakeslee felt her way back into music and finding her voice again as Tice pushed her toward writing, fingerpicking, and exploring more traditional songs.

The result was the Mercy Mountain demo, which she describes as “transformations in the key of D.” She captured just voice and guitar for three original songs: a gospel tune named “Mercy Mountain,” a re-recording of her murder ballad, “The Ballad of Anna Mae,” from Bones, and the redemptive blues song, “Ready to Rise.”

Her current creative efforts are another journey, and this time she's been accompanied with another set of characters: fellow musicians Kathleen Pappalardo, Claudia Vaughn, and Joy Thiessen. Their old-timey country quartet, The Estelles, is a harmony-driven, instrument-swapping experience that has shared the stage with other Philadelphia/Pennsylvania performers like Tin Bird Choir, the Manatawny Creek Ramblers, The New Time, Wes Mattheu and the New Way Down, Delaware Rag, Wissahickon Chicken Shack and others.

Their harmony and hellfire are a regular act at The Fire, Philadelphia's alt-country starting ground, and Blakeslee is also a regular with the Superhumble Country Band, a hometown supergroup of Philly roots musicians.

Selected Venues

Philadelphia, PA: HOMEBASE
The Fire, The Northstar Bar, The Tritone, Lickety Split, The Raven Lounge, House Concerts, Nothern Liberties Fest

Shanghai, CHINA
Shanghai University, The Blue Frog
O’Malley’s Irish Pub

Atlanta, GA
Church’s Coffee

Detroit, MI
The Opera House

Northampton, MA
Fire & Water Café

Union, NJ
Van Gogh’s Ear

NYC and Environs
The Living Room, Meow Mix, Bowery Poetry Club, Rubyfruit, Nuyorican Poets Café, Downtime, The C-Note, Bar 13, One Arm Red, Cornelia St. Café, The Old Stone House

Cleveland, OH
The Barking Spider

Oberlin, OH
Oberlin Music

Columbus, OH
Victorian’s Midnight Café, The Library Bar

Philadelphia, PA
The Fire, The Northstar Bar, The Tritone, The Raven Lounge, Mt. Airy House Concerts

Manayunk, PA
The Grape Street Pub

Bethlehem, PA
Wildflower Café

Camp Hill, PA
The Cornerstone Coffeehouse

Bloomsburg, PA
The Hotel Magee, Phillips Emporium, BHS

Allentown, PA
Muhlenberg College, Hava Java

Anneville, PA
MJ’s Coffeehouse at the Allen Theatre

Providence, RI
Café Zog

Charleston, WV
Taylor Books

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