Jolynn Daniel

During her Des Moines, IA childhood, Jolynn Daniel taught herself guitar and vocals by mimicking tracks from her parents’ collection of 1970s folk notables such as Laura Nyro, Jackson Browne, and Joni Mitchell. These airy influences shaped her own work, leading her by the late ’80s to regular appearances in New York City’s Greenwich Village neo-folk circuit. There she connected with guitarist Janson Press and drummer Shawn Pelton, and the trio entered the studio to cut her debut album. Released in 1994, Suspended earned favorable AAA-radio notice for its blend of Americana rock and folk. By the time Cosmic Daughter appeared on Rebel Sky Music in 1997, Daniel had relocated to Nashville, where the move generated useful industry contacts and grassroots buzz. She then joined bluesy Brit William Topley on a support tour routed through the Music City label Lost Highway. After issuing a subsequent live set on Rebel Sky, she delivered Come Closer in early 2003. That release offered the fullest expression to date of her polished fusion of folk, country, and pop, and it featured guest turns from Matthew Ryan alongside ex-Wilco drummer Ken Coomer.