Biography

The long version:
CAROLANN SOLEBELLO is a performing songwriter born and bred in New York City. Best known to folk audiences as a founding member of Americana trio Red Molly, she now tours as a solo troubadour and with modern folk foursome No Fuss and Feathers. An award-winning songwriter and proud member of AFM Local 1000, Carolann has five solo albums to her credit and is working on a sixth.

In the twilight of the 20th century, Carolann’s urban mind was blown during long-term theatrical acting jobs in the mountains of East Tennessee and on the Kansas prairie, where she encountered Appalachian music – and the bluegrass and country that grew out of that tradition – for the very first time. Tunes and techniques learned from musicians she met in both places forever changed her approach to songwriting and guitar playing, and ultimately re-charted the course of her career from theatre to music. 

Carolann’s smooth, compelling voice and warm acoustic guitar style nod to rural folk traditions while her rhythmic precision and sophisticated phrasing plant her firmly in the urban present. Her lyrics, always sharp and incisive, delve deeper and wider than ever before on her latest release, Shiver (2018), produced by Joe Iadanza. In each of twelve well-crafted songs, the songwriter digs into existential truth, revealing imperfect, uncertain, frightened, nostalgic, vulnerable, and sometimes unreliable narrators, whose stories – by design or by accident – occasionally intersect with her own.   

Shiver is perhaps my most intimate album to date,” Solebello says. “Though some of these songs feature characters who are purely products of my imagination, each narrator, real or imagined, whispered to me from some unswept corner of my psyche, asking to be heard. It’s not exactly confessional songwriting, but these songs are definitely a window into the room where I keep everything I am afraid of.” 

Shiver took shape in several months of pre-production, as producer and songwriter sorted through more than thirty songs written during the past few years to find those that cut closest to the emotional bone and vibrated in sympathy with each other. The dozen that emerged were then polished and arranged to allow each to whisper or howl or plead as it wished. Recorded live in only three studio sessions, Shiver is immediate and real as it gets.  Featuring the considerable talents of Craig Akin (upright bass), Jagoda (drums and percussion), Eric Lee (fiddle and mandolin), Paul Silverman (accordion), Catherine Miles (harmony vocals), and Joe Iadanza (producer, acoustic lead guitar), Shiver invites the listener into an intimate concert space with enough room for songs and souls to breathe together. 

Before Shiver, Carolann released four solo CDs – Steel and Salt (2013), Threshold (2011), Glass of Desire (2009), and Just Across the Water (2000). In 2016, she collaborated with her No Fuss and Feathers bandmates Jay Mafale, Catherine Miles, and Karyn Oliver to release Traveling Circus. With Red Molly, Carolann released an eponymous EP and three full-length albums: James (2010), Love and Other Tragedies (2008), and the live-before-a-studio-audience Never Been to Vegas (2006). 

Carolann is a proud member of the Jack Hardy Songwriters’ Exchange in New York City, and has garnered a number of songwriting awards.  She placed first at both the 2011 Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival (MD) and the 2015 Musicians on a Mission Songwriting Contest (NJ), third at the 2014 SolarFest Songwriting Competition (VT), and earned both a Silver Award (Folk/Acoustic category) and the Director's Choice Award at the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (DC).  Carolann also performed as an Official Showcase Artist at the Folk AIliance International (FAI), Northeast Regional (NERFA), and Southeast Regional (SERFA) conferences in 2012, 2016, and 2019, respectively. 

During her six years with Red Molly, Carolann was privileged to perform at numerous festivals, including:  Merlefest (NC), Kerrville Folk Festival (TX), Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY), Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (OK), New Bedford Summerfest (MA), Musikfest (PA), and Philadelphia Folk Festival (PA).  She’s since performed solo at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY), Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (OK), Black Potatoe Festival (NJ), Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival (NY), and Muses in the Vineyard (NJ).    

With No Fuss and Feathers, Carolann has appeared at Kerrville Folk Festival (TX), Roots on the River (VT), Muses in the Vineyard (NJ), and New Bedford Folk Festival (MA). 

Carolann lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son.

The shorter version (100 words):
CAROLANN SOLEBELLO is a performing songwriter born and bred in NYC. A founding member of Americana trio Red Molly, Carolann now tours as a solo troubadour and with modern folk foursome No Fuss and Feathers. Her smooth, compelling voice and warm acoustic guitar style nod to rural folk traditions while her rhythmic precision and sophisticated phrasing plant her firmly in the urban present. Carolann is a proud member of AFM Local 1000 and the Jack Hardy Songwriters Exchange. She has hosted a bunch of open mics, won a bunch of songwriting awards, and is currently working on her sixth solo album.

The shortest version (60 words):
CAROLANN SOLEBELLO is a performing songwriter born and bred in NYC. Her smooth, compelling voice and warm acoustic guitar style nod to rural folk traditions while her rhythmic precision and sophisticated phrasing plant her firmly in the urban present. A proud member of AFM Local 1000, Carolann has recorded five solo albums and has won a bunch of songwriting awards.

Photo by River J. Dougherty.

Discography

Solo 
Shiver  (2018) 
Steel and Salt  (2013) 
Threshold  (2011) 
Glass of Desire  (2009) 
Just Across the Water  (2000) 

with No Fuss and Feathers 
Traveling Circus  (2016) 

with Red Molly 
James  (2010) 
Love and Other Tragedies  (2008) 
Never Been to Vegas  (2006) 
Red Molly  (2005) 

with CC Railroad 
Black Horse Motel  (2004) 
Smile Whatever  (2001) 

Other Recordings 
Jenny AmlenStories to Tell  (2016)
Erik BalkeySanctuary Road  (2005)
Beaucoup BlueFree to Fall  (2009)
Marc Douglas BerardoDownhauler  (2010)
Mark Allen BerubeSticky  (2014)
Mark Allen BerubeSuspicious Fish  (2005)
Mark BerubeShut Up So I Can Play  (2000)
Meg BraunTomboy Princess  (2009)
Chicks With Dip, Stomping on Eggshells (2020)

Chicks With DipJoni Mitchell's Blue: A 40th Anniversary Celebration  (2012)
Anthony da CostaQuality Time  (2007)
Honor FinneganRoses and Victory  (2016)
Fred Gillen, Jr.Silence of the Night  (2012)
Fred Gillen, Jr.Cost of Freedom  (2007)
Sharon Goldman, Every Trip Around the Sun (2019)
Sharon GoldmanSleepless Lullaby  (2010)
Sharon GoldmanShake the Stars  (2006)
Sharon Edry (Goldman)Semi-Broken Heart  (2004)
Bev GrantIt's Personal  (2017)
Molly PitcherWatching the Rain  (2001)
Elisa PeimerInside the Glass (2016)
Cheryl PrashkerIt's All About the Drums  (2007)
Robbie SchaeferStrange and Lovely World  (2008)
Pat WictorSunset Waltz  (2008)
Scott Wolfson and Other HeroesLife on Fire  (2014)
Ina May Wool, Rewrite the Ending (2021)