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Photographer: Robert Sherrow
Photographer: Stacie Huckeba
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Held
The World Moves On
Michelle Held is a contemporary folk musician with a distinctive voice and style of songwriting that explores life's mysteries and reveals a startling wisdom hidden below the surface.
Held’s self-written and -produced debut single The World Moves On, featuring strings by The Accidentals and horns by C.J. Camerieri, 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 that moment when everything unalterably changes forever and yet, somehow the world keeps spinning as if nothing has changed at all. “Processing the magnitude of loss over the past few years, I took comfort in writing this song. I hope it brings the same to others, especially as grief hits hard around the holidays,” says Held.
During her twelve years as a stage actress performing in small professional theaters throughout the Midwest, Held was gifted an old Fender acoustic guitar and found herself investigating the music of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone. This opened a world she’d never known existed: one in which poetry and melody collide and songs have strong intention.
These discoveries sparked a change in trajectory. After years of dedication to her new art form of choice, Held earned Honorable Mention in the past three Telluride Troubadour Contests and has been welcomed onto renowned stages, such as Kansas City Folk Festival, Wheatland Music Festival and The Ark. Detroit Metro Times writes, “Held plays gentle folk with oft-scathing lyrics. It’s her voice that adds the X-Factor; that little bit of welcome strange.” And Tom Paxton says, "Two years ago I told Michelle that I thought she had the gift. I am changing 'thought' to 'know .'"
Artist: Cara Dunning
PRESS ASSETS
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Held
The World Moves On
The World Moves On is the debut single by Michelle Held, a stalwart in the Detroit music scene for over a decade. The evocative and hopeful folk song 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 that moment when everything unalterably changes forever and yet, somehow the world keeps spinning as if nothing has changed at all. “Processing the magnitude of loss over the past few years, I took comfort in writing this song. I hope it brings the same to others, especially as grief hits hard around the holidays,” says Held. The self-written and -produced song is due out November 17th.
Michelle Held
Michelle Held is a Detroit-based contemporary folk musician with a distinctive voice and style of songwriting that explores life’s mysteries and reveals a startling wisdom hidden below the surface. During her twelve years as a stage actress performing in small professional theaters throughout the Midwest, Held was gifted an old Fender acoustic guitar and found herself investigating the music of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Nina Simone. This opened a world she’d never known existed: one in which poetry and melody collide and songs have strong intention. These discoveries sparked a change in trajectory. Now, after a decade of writing, performing and dedication to her new art form of choice, and three Telluride Troubadour Honorable Mentions, Held’s debut single, “The World Moves On” will be released on November 17, 2023. The evocative and hopeful folk song is a reflection on that moment 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.’”
“‘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.” ”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”