On her new LP Connections, Genre-agnostic Seattle sing songwriter Karyn Michaelson has crafted an earnest entreaty to letting go of fears and doing what is right for you. Michaelson has always found solace in music. From the second grader devouring Beatles cuts at the “rainy day listening station”, to a depressed teen who thanks Supertramp for guiding her through, to musical theater student on Broadway, music has been her eternal confidant. Returning to her Pacific Northwest home, Michaelson formed the acoustic duo Spiritwalk, wowing audiences at stages ranging from the Tractor Tavern – the spiritual home of Americana in Seattle – to the vaunted Northwest Folklife Festival. 

Eloquently distilling a life full of experience into her eminently engaging songs - of which she has written nearly one hundred - Michaelson’s compositions capture universal truths of the everyday. “I decided to call this record Connections because there is a theme laced through,” she explains.  “This is a record about connecting with other people, nature, and oneself. Yet it’s also about losing connection, as in death and dementia, and finding the strength to try and connect anyway.” 

Always heartfelt, and sometimes gut-wrenching, her music draws influence from the full breadth of the American songbook. Working away at her home studio (with occasional mix assistance from Matt Taylor from Echo Lake Studios), Michaelson has been patiently honing her craft. Connections was written at home and recorded both there and at Taylor’s studio. In addition to Michaelson, the record features guitarists Bab Park and Kris Lahd, Maria Scherer Wilson on violoncello, and Matt Taylor on bass guitar and drums.  

Though Michaelson never shies from engaging difficult subjects head on, Connections is ultimately a record about finding empowerment. “I want folks to find the strength to face their fears; the fear of connecting in particular. Facing the fears of disconnecting, loss, death, and moving through that fear to a place of peace.” With Connections, Michaelson has given the work a work of elegant depth, beauty, and healing.