Heather Maloney and Darlingside independently began their musical
careers in late 2009 in Northampton, MA, crossing paths only through
overlapping posters pinned up on cork boards across town and occasional
side-by-side blurbs in local music rags. Buoyed by the same robust arts
scene of the Pioneer Valley, both artists grew from regional headliners to
nationally touring acts in a few short years. In November of 2013, Maloney
and Darlingside teamed up for a tour out to the Midwest, and it did not
take long for them to realize that they had stumbled upon a powerful
combination. A feature in the New York Times of their cover of Joni
Mitchell's “Woodstock” soon followed, and a joint EP, the Woodstock EP,
was released by Signature Sounds on March 11th.
Heather Maloney is a western Massachusetts based artist who has
received numerous accolades for her startlingly soulful voice and
literate songwriting exploring themes of spirituality, transformation, and
impermanence. Critics are quickly discovering Maloney's talent with
No Depression raving "Her music is riveting, her voice adventurous, her
lyrics thought- provoking...Maloney's expansive range can handle Ella
Fitzgerald-style jazz scat and adapt to Beatlesque pop or Joni Mitchell
folk...” while Blurt Magazine wrote "Heather Maloney is one of the most
talented tradition-based singer-songwriters I’ve heard in some time...the
writing is stunning."
Darlingside is a Massachusetts-based indie folk quartet. With four distinct
voices clustered around a single microphone, their tightly arranged tunes
draw from the unexpected, featuring strains of bluegrass, classical, and
barbershop. Accompanied by an arsenal of classical strings, guitars,
mandolin, and percussion, these four close friends swap instruments
from song to song, keeping audiences across the country on the edge of
their seats: "Darlingside are doing something new in pop music...ground
the Beach Boys, Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Talking
Heads, Prince, Phish and Radiohead didn’t cover” (The Boston Herald).
