Haley Bonar
Encyclopedia
Haley Bonar is an American
alternative country
singer-songwriter
who hails from South Dakota
. She has lived in Duluth
and St. Paul, Minnesota. In July 2009, she moved to Portland, Oregon
, where she spent a year writing songs for her newest album Golder, which is to be released April 19, 2011. She plays mostly acoustic guitar and a rhodes or wurlitzer organ, either solo or with her Minneapolis-based band, including Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mike Lewis of Andrew Bird fame, as well as long time band mates Luke Anderson on drums and Jacob Hanson on guitar.
In 2003 Bonar's album . . . The Size of Planets (Chairkicker's Union) received favorable reviews in the Minneapolis press. The album spawned the single "Am I Allowed," which was played on college radio stations. Bonar was 20 years old when the album was released, and did a number of tours with Duluth band Low upon its release. She also toured with the likes of Mason Jennings
, Richard Buckner
, and Mary Lou Lord
, who was also, for a time, Bonar's manager.
In 2006 she released the album Lure the Fox, originally on Mary Ellen Recordings, whose owner, Mary Lewis, decided to help Bonar pay to record the album at Pachyderm Studio
after reading a Star Tribune article about her in 2005. Dave King
of Happy Apple
and The Bad Plus
plays drums, Chris Morrissey
plays bass, and the album features Low's Alan Sparhawk on the track "Give it Up." Also on that track is David Frankenfeld, Bonar's former drummer, who played on The Size of Planets. One year after Lure the Fox was recorded, Bonar signed with local label Afternoon Records
, who then released the album nationally in October 2006.
Lure the Fox earned Bonar two Minnesota Music Awards, one for Best American Roots recording, and another for Best American Roots artist. The album also topped many Twin Cities year-end favorite lists, including those of the Star Tribune
, City Pages
, The Onion
, and Pulse magazine. Bonar was also featured on the cover of Metro magazine.
Big Star, released in June 2008 on Afternoon Records
, gained Bonar a broader audience with songs like "Big Star," "Green Eyed Boy," and "Arms of Harm," which was featured on the credits for an episode of Showtime's The United States of Tara
. The songs "Queen of Everything," "Big Star," and "Something Great" were also featured on MTV's show Teen Moms in 2009/2010.
Bonar is featured on the 2007 Andrew Bird
record Armchair Apocrypha
and has frequently shared the stage with Bird over the past five years. She sang on the feature song "Quiet Breathing" from the independent film Sweet Land
, directed by fellow Minnesotan Ali Selim
.
In 2009, Bonar's move from Minneapolis to Portland, Oregon was noted by City Pages. She returned to the Twin Cities in July 2010 and again became very active in the Minneapolis music scene. Upon completion of her album Golder, she also started a side project band called Gramma's Boyfriend, a "no-wave, new wave, punkish kind of thing that sounds like the Twin Peaks High School prom band". Bonar started a Kickstarter
campaign in February 2011 in order to raise money to promote and tour her upcoming record. She will be playing the 2011 SXSW music festival in March, releasing the album in April, and touring it summer 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who hails from South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. She has lived in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
and St. Paul, Minnesota. In July 2009, she moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, where she spent a year writing songs for her newest album Golder, which is to be released April 19, 2011. She plays mostly acoustic guitar and a rhodes or wurlitzer organ, either solo or with her Minneapolis-based band, including Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mike Lewis of Andrew Bird fame, as well as long time band mates Luke Anderson on drums and Jacob Hanson on guitar.
In 2003 Bonar's album . . . The Size of Planets (Chairkicker's Union) received favorable reviews in the Minneapolis press. The album spawned the single "Am I Allowed," which was played on college radio stations. Bonar was 20 years old when the album was released, and did a number of tours with Duluth band Low upon its release. She also toured with the likes of Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings is an American pop-folk singer-songwriter. He is well known for his simple yet catchy melodies, intimate lyrics, literary and historical themes, and distinctive voice...
, Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner
Richard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter born in California. After living in Edmonton, Alberta for a number of years, he currently resides in Brooklyn, NY...
, and Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord
Mary Lou Lord is an indie folk musician, busker and recording artist.-Biography:Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations Lord became friends with...
, who was also, for a time, Bonar's manager.
In 2006 she released the album Lure the Fox, originally on Mary Ellen Recordings, whose owner, Mary Lewis, decided to help Bonar pay to record the album at Pachyderm Studio
Pachyderm Studio
Pachyderm Recording Studio is a residential recording studio located in rural Cannon Falls, Minnesota, United States, 35.8 mi southeast of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. It is located in a secluded old-growth forest with a vibrant trout stream. The studio was founded in 1988...
after reading a Star Tribune article about her in 2005. Dave King
David King (musician)
David King is a drummer/ composer from Minneapolis. He is best known for being a founding member of the jazz groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple although he is active in many other projects including free jazz collective Buffalo Collision with NYC "Downtown" legends Tim Berne and Hank Roberts and...
of Happy Apple
Happy Apple
Happy Apple is an American jazz trio.Formed in 1996 in Minneapolis, members of the band are David King , Michael Lewis and Erik Fratzke ....
and The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus are a jazz trio from the United States, consisting of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer Dave King, originating from Minneapolis, MN.-History:...
plays drums, Chris Morrissey
Chris Morrissey (musician)
Chris Morrissey is a musician currently living in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Chris plays the bass. Chris currently plays with and has recorded with a number of bands:* Mason Jennings* Haley Bonar* Bill Mike Band* Tarlton...
plays bass, and the album features Low's Alan Sparhawk on the track "Give it Up." Also on that track is David Frankenfeld, Bonar's former drummer, who played on The Size of Planets. One year after Lure the Fox was recorded, Bonar signed with local label Afternoon Records
Afternoon Records
Afternoon Records is a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The label was founded by Ian Anderson and Michael M. Sandstedt in 2003, the year of Ian's graduation from high school...
, who then released the album nationally in October 2006.
Lure the Fox earned Bonar two Minnesota Music Awards, one for Best American Roots recording, and another for Best American Roots artist. The album also topped many Twin Cities year-end favorite lists, including those of the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
, City Pages
City Pages
City Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...
, The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
, and Pulse magazine. Bonar was also featured on the cover of Metro magazine.
Big Star, released in June 2008 on Afternoon Records
Afternoon Records
Afternoon Records is a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The label was founded by Ian Anderson and Michael M. Sandstedt in 2003, the year of Ian's graduation from high school...
, gained Bonar a broader audience with songs like "Big Star," "Green Eyed Boy," and "Arms of Harm," which was featured on the credits for an episode of Showtime's The United States of Tara
The United States of Tara
United States of Tara is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which began airing on Showtime in 2009. The series follows the life of Tara , a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder....
. The songs "Queen of Everything," "Big Star," and "Something Great" were also featured on MTV's show Teen Moms in 2009/2010.
Bonar is featured on the 2007 Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
record Armchair Apocrypha
Armchair Apocrypha
- Personnel :* Andrew Bird* Haley Bonar – Vocals * Jon Davis – Bass clarinet * Martin Dosh – Drums, electric piano , other sounds* Ben Durrant – Guitar * Chris Morrissey – Bass...
and has frequently shared the stage with Bird over the past five years. She sang on the feature song "Quiet Breathing" from the independent film Sweet Land
Sweet Land
Sweet Land is a 2005 American independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver...
, directed by fellow Minnesotan Ali Selim
Ali Selim
Ali Selim is an Arab-American advertising and independent film director. Over the past fifteen years he has directed over 850 television commercials, five half-hour documentaries and several music videos.-Early life:...
.
In 2009, Bonar's move from Minneapolis to Portland, Oregon was noted by City Pages. She returned to the Twin Cities in July 2010 and again became very active in the Minneapolis music scene. Upon completion of her album Golder, she also started a side project band called Gramma's Boyfriend, a "no-wave, new wave, punkish kind of thing that sounds like the Twin Peaks High School prom band". Bonar started a Kickstarter
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, ranging from indie film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects.-Model:...
campaign in February 2011 in order to raise money to promote and tour her upcoming record. She will be playing the 2011 SXSW music festival in March, releasing the album in April, and touring it summer 2011.
Discography
- Haley Bryn Bonar (Slicktunes Recording, 2001)
- 9 Song Demo (Self Released, 2002)
- ...The Size of Planets (Chairkicker's Union, 2003)
- Lure the Fox EP (Self Released, 2004)
- Lure the Fox (Afternoon RecordsAfternoon RecordsAfternoon Records is a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The label was founded by Ian Anderson and Michael M. Sandstedt in 2003, the year of Ian's graduation from high school...
, 2006) - Big Star (Afternoon Records, 2008)
- Only X-Mas EP (Self Released, 2008)
- Sing With Me EP (Self Released, 2010)
- Golder (Graveface Records, April 19, 2011)
External links
- http://myspace.com/haleybonar
- http://www.haleybonar.com
- set of live videos at scheduletwo.com
- Haley Bonar Live Interview/Performance on MPRMPR-In medicine:*Multi-planar reformatting, or multiplanar reconstruction, a term used in medical imaging to refer to the reconstruction of images in the coronal and sagittal planes in conjunction with the original axial dataset; see X-ray_computed_tomography#Multiplanar_reconstruction*Mannose...
(2003) - Haley Bonar Live Interview/Performance on KCMPKCMP-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
(2005) - Haley Bonar Live Interview/Performance on KCMPKCMP-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
stage at Minnesota State FairMinnesota State FairThe Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its slogan is "The Great Minnesota Get-Together." It is the 2nd largest fair in the United States, and the largest state fair in the United States in terms of average daily attendance, though the State Fair of Texas runs...
(2006) - Haley Bonar Live Interview/Performance on KCMPKCMP-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
(2008) - Haley Bonar Acoustic Performance on Current TVCurrent TVCurrent TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....