Emanating from the low hills of western Kentucky (Murray, KY) are the unmistakable songs of Melanie A. Davis. A performer at heart and writer by trade, her ability to craft simultaneously poignant and liberating tunes is steeped in an appreciation for the nuances of human relationships. Whether contemplating the potential of her immediate community, reflecting the global zeitgeist, or considering her own vices, she never shies away from the glaring truths therein.
A classically trained vocalist and self-taught guitarist, Davis floats her distinctive voice overtop fingerstyle guitar that oscillates from the Appalachian picking tradition to bossa nova-inspired rhythms. With a clear emphasis on poet lyricism that cuts as much as it soothes, she takes clear inspiration from artists like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bobbie Gentry, and Joan Baez.
Noctalgia, Davis’ fourth full-length album and the first to feature her full-band outfit, Melanie A. Davis & The Madness, is set to release on November 8, 2024. A love letter to the fading night sky that’s slowly “disappearing” from our perspective due to climate change, the 10-track collection features tongue-in-cheek doo-wop (“people are dying to get in here, you know), an intimate lounge feel (“Noctalgia” and “Golden Lasso”), and honky tonk (“Ursa Major”), among others. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Shelby Preklas at Loud & Clear Studios in Paducah, Kentucky.
This record comes on the heels of a Live in Austin EP, recorded at Cedar Creek Studios with Austin Artist Spotlight in Austin, Texas, as part of the Madness Goes West tour in June 2024. Davis’ last full-length studio album, Honey Locust, was released in August 2023. Other notable releases include a collection of quarantine confessionals, Dear Diary, Do You Hate Me? from 2020, and a politically driven folk record, Allegoria, recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, and released pre-pandemic in January 2020.
Davis’ extensive stage experience translates into captivating live performances that leave the listener hanging with each line. She delivers complex phrases that speak to neuroses we all understand yet don’t always articulate, all within a fresh wave of jazz-inspired folk arrangements that tend to emphasize the conflicting range of emotions she describes. A steward of her local scene and a passionate advocate for independent artists like herself, Davis has carved out a space for her genuinely original sound in her Midsouth community and across the country through extensive tours in the Southeast, West Coast, Northeast, and Midwest.