Born in the heart of the American desert, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and raised in the mountains of Southern New Zealand, Holly Arrowsmith is a songwriter on the rise locally and internationally, a strong forerunner in New Zealand’s current folk revivalist movement.
With sound comparisons to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris and Nick Drake, Holly touches upon the earnest matters of life, wrapped in metaphors of nature and the soothing mountain environment that raised her.
'A Dawn I Remember' Arrowsmith's second full length album was crowdfunded and released June 2018. Recorded between a cottage in the coastal town of Colac Bay and The Sitting Room recording studio in Lyttelton, New Zealand with renowned producer Ben Edwards.
Holly now embarks on a Nationwide tour showcasing songs from the new album with accompaniment from multi instrumentalist Phill Jones and support from special guest, Amiria Grenell (Tui Award Best Folk Album 2015.)
Arrowsmith's first album 'For The Weary Traveller' received the VNZMA Tui Award for 'Best Folk Album of 2016', and with it she supported Sixto Rodrigues, Jessica Pratt, Tiny Ruins, Nadia Reid and toured with Fly My Pretties.
'This is by far Holly Arrowsmith's best work to date. She has crafted an evocative ’big sky’ album that acknowledges and honours its influences without wasting too much time being reverential. Over this whole collection there is a fine musical sensibility, with melodic and lyrical strength, sensitive and intelligent arrangement /production, and clear creative vision. It is music that draws you back for another listen and offers fresh reward every time.'
/Trevor Faville, Reviewing 'A Dawn I Remember' 2018
'There’s something about Arrowsmith’s presence that is a different kind of alchemy altogether – in the unusual quality of her delivery and her enchanting voice, which swings between being light and free, before turning into a growl or lilting into a sweet head voice.'
/ Fraser Browne, Second-hand News
