Sometime back, a fan lovingly shared that Molly brings an orchestra to a rock concert. It’s a descriptor that has stuck. A longtime fiddle player for the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, who morphed along the way into a powerhouse experimental songwriter, Molly Healey began her solo career in 2015 after buying a simple looping pedal. She immediately found a passion for blending her strings and voice together into atmospheric and experimental, orchestral folk songs, and her first compositions were featured on her debut solo album, Nightbirds. She has since recorded three more albums, each growing in intensity and instrumentation. The most recent, Lotus, was released in November of 2022. Molly has grown from the stripped-down looping solo set to a roster of original music and choice covers that she often performs with a full, electric band. She plays a dazzling variety of instruments: cello, violin, guitar, and piano, all while experimenting with other sounds looping in Ableton Live.
Lotus is by far the most ambitious of her recording efforts. Influenced by Radiohead, Andrew Bird, Agnes Obel and the experimental cello-driven acts of Zoe Keating and Rasputina, all tracks are flush with lush sgring arrangements, unconventional uses of orchestral instruments, and infectious beats. The album features a choir and a full orchestra in parts. Even Molly's daughter joins in on electric guitar for a track. Molly is currently playing shows in support of the new album.
Molly Healey has opened for Victor Wooten, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and has played sets at Burning Man, Roots N Blues Festival in Columbia, ReKinection Festival, and for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet. Her band members are Zach Harrison on electric guitar, Kyle Day on bass, and Danny Carroll on drums. Molly continues to play violin for The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Lacewings, and The Kay Brothers. She frequently does session work for bands across the state. Molly is also the co-organizer of Earth Day: The Festival, an annual music festival that raises funds for local environmental organizations. She is in the studio recording new music to be released in 2024.
