Jolie Holland

Biography

Jolie Holland (born September 11, 1975) is an American singer and performer who combines elements of folk, traditional, experimental, and rock.

Career

Growing up in her birthplace of Houston, Texas, Holland left in 1994, moving to Austin, New Orleans, and San Francisco before ending up in Vancouver, Canada, where she was one of the founding members of The Be Good Tanyas. Holland left the band before the release of their debut album, Blue Horse, on which she appears prominently. She returned to San Francisco, where she recorded her first album, 2002's Catalpa×Catalpa11 November 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Alley Flowers5:022All the Morning Birds4:233Roll My Blues4:064Black Hand Blues2:555December, 19993:376I Wanna Die5:197Demon Lover Improv4:338Catalpa Waltz5:099The Littlest Birds3:5910Wandering Angus7:2211Periphery Waltz4:0512Ghost Waltz3:54. Originally self-released, the album was later picked up and re-released by ANTI-. In 2004 she released her first album for ANTI-, Escondida×Escondida26 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sascha3:092Black Stars4:553Old Fashioned Morphine4:354Amen3:325Mad Tom of Bedlam2:526Poor Girl's Blues5:277Goodbye California3:298Do You?4:499Darlin Ukelele4:0710Damn Shame4:5011Tiny Idyll / Lil Missy2:4212Faded Coat of Blue3:47. ANTI- labelmates Tom Waits and Sage Francis are both outspoken fans of Holland's: Waits nominated her for the Shortlist music prize, while Francis has said that Escondida was his most listened to album of 2005.
As well as releasing another four solo albums for ANTI- and touring globally, Holland has performed a number of collaborations with other artists, including with fan Sage Francis (on his album Human the Death Dance) and Booker T. (with whom she recorded "What A Wonderful World" in 2007). In 2016, she reunited with Be Good Tanyas bandmate Samantha Parton and they began touring as a duo, releasing the jointly-credited album Wildflower Blues×Wildflower Blues8 September 2017 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1You Are Not Needed Now3:482Wildflower Blues5:253Make It Up to Me4:544Little Black Bear (Blue Rooms version)4:255Jocko’s Lament3:296The Last3:397Minstrel Boy5:318Biding My Time4:199Johnny Said to May4:4810Gooseberry Rag4:08, on Cinquefoil Records, in 2017 and embarking on a joint tour through 2018.

Studio albums

Catalpa (2003)
Escondida (2004)
Springtime Can Kill You (2006)
The Living and the Dead (2008)
Pint of Blood (2011)
Wine Dark Sea (2014)
Wildflower Blues with Samantha Parton (2017)
Haunted Mountain (2023)
Wolf Dispatch with Max Knouse (2025)

Live albums

Jolie Holland and the Quiet Orkestra (2002)

Contributions

Multiple vocal, instrumental, and writing contributions on the Be Good Tanyas' debut album, Blue Horse, released in 2000 (after Holland's departure from the band).
Multiple collaborations with David Dondero, including backing vocals on the song "Analysis of a 1970's Divorce" on Dondero's 2001 album Shooting at the Sun With a Water Gun
Lead vocals on The Grey Funnel Line on Hal Willner's Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys (2006, ANTI-)
Backing vocals for Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin's studio solo album Cold as the Clay
Violin on The Speakers' album Yeats Is Greats
Backing vocals on Chuck Ragan's album Feast or Famine
Lyrics and performance of Flood of Dreams in the film King of California
Backing vocals on "Cinders of the Sun" and "Heart of Misery" for Steve Abel and the Chrysalids' album Flax Happyon
Backing vocals on David Gray's "Kathleen"
Contributed to two tracks on Sage Francis' Human the Death Dance and is featured in the video for "Got Up This Morning"
Backing vocals on "Songs for Love Drunk Sinners" by Jan Bell and the Cheap Dates
Collaboration with Booker T. Jones on the album "What A Wonderful World"
Backing vocals on "Old/New" by Frally
Backing vocals on "Alabama chicken" and "Rattlesnake charm (Dream machine)" by Sean Hayes
Mixing and engineering by Joel Hamilton on the album "The Living and The Dead×The Living and the Dead7 October 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Mexico City3:562Corrido Por Buddy4:233Palmyra4:364You Painted Yourself In3:135Fox in Its Hole5:116Your Big Hands4:037Sweet Loving Man3:328Love Henry5:089The Future3:4810Enjoy Yourself2:23"
Duet with Guy Garvey on "Electricity" from the 2015 album Courting the Squall
Backing vocals and violin on Eric Terino's "Innovations of Grave Perversity" LP and "Body Gets Stoned" EP