Forest Sun

Forest Sun, a storytelling songwriter based in the Bay Area, channels his smooth tenor across folk, country, reggae, rock, and soul. His vivid early years in Upstate New York’s hippie enclaves, combined with extensive travels abroad, have driven an expansive body of work that now stretches nearly twenty-five years. From the outset a committed D.I.Y. artist, he launched his path with the self-produced 1999 debut Not Afraid, which led to shared bills with Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, and the Beach Boys. Earthy lyricism and relaxed charisma have turned him into a regular presence at festivals across North America and Europe, while Walk Through Walls (2005), Just Begun (2012), and Follow the Love (2022) have drawn both praise and a devoted following.

Born in Glens Falls, New York, Sun grew up inside the region’s late-’60s counterculture scene that shaped his parents. Their affection for folk traditions introduced him early to an array of roots sounds ranging from Toots & the Maytals to Townes Van Zandt. Meetings with blues guitarist Rory Block and African drummer Babatunde Olatunji further cemented his ambition to pursue music professionally. After moving to the Bay Area for college, he joined a local group alongside actress Maya Rudolph, then traveled to Europe to study art.

His solo career opened in 1999 with Not Afraid, captured in a San Francisco bedroom. The following decade found him living the itinerant existence of a working musician, performing across Europe and the United States on stages of every size while steadily building an independent audience. Plenty (2001) and Walk Through Walls (2005) showcased both his narrative skill and exploratory bent. He supported Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, and Keb’ Mo’, joined tours with Mason Jennings and Brett Dennen, and even traveled with the Beach Boys. Songs also surfaced on NBC’s Perfect Harmony, Showtime’s The Big C, and multiple surf-film soundtracks.

Sun has stayed active in the studio throughout: 2008 brought two full-length releases, Harlequin Goodnight and So Nice, plus the benefit collection Songs for Laura, sparked by his mother’s cancer fight. In 2010 he explored children’s music on Just for Fun, then returned two years later with the relaxed Americana of Just Begun. He also works as a visual artist and occasional actor with several small-screen credits. Sun scored the 2019 documentary Free Ticket to Egypt and has placed additional tracks in other films.

Entering the new decade he issued back-to-back studio albums, Stubborn Breathing Heart in 2021 and Follow the Love the following year.