PRESS PHOTOS
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Photographer: Robert Sherrow
Photographer: Robert Sherrow
Photographer: Stacie Huckeba
SHORTEST BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Held
Michelle Held is a singer-songwriter whose music is heart-centered and deeply resonant. With a singular voice, she weaves poetic lyrics with soulful, genuine storytelling that captures the human experience. A three-time Honorable Mention recipient in the prestigious Telluride Troubadour Contest, Held continues to garner recognition for her artistry.
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Held
Michelle Held is a singer-songwriter whose music is heart-centered and deeply resonant. With a singular voice, she weaves poetic lyrics with soulful, genuine storytelling that captures the human experience. Her songs invite listeners into a space of warmth and authenticity, creating a timeless connection.
Tom Paxton said, “Two years ago, I told Michelle that I thought she had the gift. I am changing ‘thought’ to ‘know.’” And Caryn Rose of Detroit Metro Times writes, “Where Held emerges above the fray is not just the unique technical qualities of her vocal instrument, multi-textured and commanding, but also her emotional approach to the songs.” A three-time Honorable Mention recipient in the prestigious Telluride Troubadour Contest, Held continues to garner recognition for her artistry.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Held
The World Moves On
Michelle Held is a singer-songwriter whose music is heart-centered and deeply resonant. With a singular voice, she weaves poetic lyrics with soulful, genuine storytelling that captures the human experience. Her songs invite listeners into a space of warmth and authenticity, creating a timeless connection.
Tom Paxton said, “Two years ago, I told Michelle that I thought she had the gift. I am changing ‘thought’ to ‘know.’” And Caryn Rose of Detroit Metro Times writes, “Where Held emerges above the fray is not just the unique technical qualities of her vocal instrument, multi-textured and commanding, but also her emotional approach to the songs.” A three-time Honorable Mention recipient in the prestigious Telluride Troubadour Contest, Held continues to garner recognition for her artistry.
Held’s self-written and -produced debut single The World Moves On, is an evocative and hopeful folk song that realizes the fragility of life. The subject is personal; Held’s childhood was marked by great tragedy with the unexpected loss of her father. This is a reflective piece about those moments when everything unalterably changes forever and yet, somehow the world keeps spinning as if nothing has changed at all.
QUOTES
“Two years ago, I told Michelle that I thought she had the gift. I am changing ‘thought’ to ‘know.’”
“Where Held emerges above the fray is not just the unique technical qualities of her vocal instrument, multi-textured and commanding, but also her emotional approach to the songs.”
“‘The World Moves On’ is a thoughtful contemporary folk song, ruminating deeply on the passage of time, the passing of heroes, the steady relentlessness of it all... This song presents a few opportunities for Michelle to share her memorably one-of-a-kind warble, a vocal texture that helps secure a spot in the listener’s memory and sets her apart from other singer-songwriters in and beyond the folk genre.”
“That is a beautiful song. That is Detroit’s own Michelle Held on 101.9 WDET… so this is the debut single from Michelle Held, who has been a part of the Detroit music scene for better than a decade. So, the next time you see somebody working away in a notebook in a coffeeshop someplace, you have no idea what they might be working on.” ”
“Cut from the cloth woven by Carole King and Bob Dylan...As Michelle drew us into her world, I was reminded of the magnetic pull that a guitar paired with lyrical vocals can have on us.”
“Held plays gentle folk with oft-scathing lyrics. It’s her voice that adds the X-Factor; that little bit of welcome strange.”
“I met Michelle when she came to my music club, the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe, in Galveston. I was first drawn to her voice with the beautiful Joan Baez-ish vibrato. Then I noticed her writing and started focusing on the stories coming from that voice. A unique and beautiful musician.”
“Lines like “We are frightened by things we don’t understand/Like where the soul does meet the earth or the color of a man/A hero paved us a better way and handed over the baton/Ain’t it funny the way the world moves on” dig deep into her thoughts and leave listeners with something to ponder on.”
“The theme of confidence runs through Held’s lyrics. She has a unique vibrato voice, a distinct warble, that only adds to her charm. Like her heroes (Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, et al.), her voice is instantly recognizable..”
“Michelle: Hummingbird with a raven’s heart, you are stronger than you know. You are a warrior, explorer, finding your way through this decade of uncertainty. You bring true Spirit to a shaking place, with a voice we have not heard in a long, long time. Keep circling the song. It is important.”
Artist: Cara Dunning
