"Heartbreak, hope, and transformation distilled through gorgeous piano and a fearlessly intimate vocal." - John Common, Free School Records

by Melissa Axel
(Denver, Colorado)

Centered on themes of love, humanity, and metamorphosis, Melissa Axel's music has been described as "heartbreak, hope, and transformation distilled through gorgeous piano and a fearlessly intimate vocal." Fusing myriad contemporary influences with her own strengths as a singer/songwriter, Axel's melodic wordplay transforms life experience into songs that express the fear, joy, pain, and love that connect us all. The Berklee College of Music alum received 2008 & 2009 WOMAD scholarships to participate in workshops hosted in the UK by the World of Music and Dance Foundation, created by Peter Gabriel in 1980.

Often accompanied on tuba by frequent collaborator James E. Jacoby, Axel has performed everywhere from the South Florida heat to the cool of Iceland, the frenzy of New York to the peaceful Swedish seaside, and award-winning Denver venues like Dazzle and Swallow Hill in Colorado, where she now makes her home. Through WOMAD, they have shared the stage with Gabriel collaborators N?Faly Kouyaté (Dunyakan, Afro Celt Sound System), Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara (Robert Plant, Festival in the Desert), and Andy White (ALT, Big Blue Ball), co-writing "Every Place Is Home" with White in summer 2009.

As founder of the non-profit Colorado Artist Network, Axel co-hosts songwriting workshops and community arts events between showcase performances of her original material. She has written a host of new songs for her first full-length album, to be recorded at some of her favorite studios around the world on the heels of her latest EP Transition.

Contact: music@melissaaxel.com