Liv Greene tells poignant folk stories on "Wishing Well" from the album "Every Bright Penny"

Photo by Jack Schneider

Liv Greene is part and parcel of the New England folk scene as singer-songwriter, performer and even teacher of songwriting, of guitar. As a songwriter, her trade as storyteller and her particular aesthetic, that she crafts in songs like her latest, Wishing Well, relies on an earnest, honest performance and songwriting that does not rely on shortcuts, on tropes of the trade that everyone, especially newcomers, bring to their songs. You simply have to be believed to be felt and she accomplishes that and more on Wishing Well. The production from the top down is as earthy as an ancient oak tree's roots. Greene's vocal lilt is so incredibly earnest and her truth is propelled on a voice that glides and soars effortlessly. There is an absolute easy self awareness to her singing as if she is opening up to a loved one and despite her ease there is a nuanced tension in places too, in the way she drops to sudden sustains and surprising bursts of grittiness. She is a great singer and a great writer.

Wishing Well is from Greene's first full-length, "Every Bright Penny", recorded at Dimension Sound Studios in Jamaica Plain, MA. It was engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Cardinal, produced by Isa Burke of Americana trio Lula Wiles, and involves performances by musicians Maddie Witler on mandolin (Lonely Heartstring Band), Grace Ward on upright bass, harmony vox, (Houndsteeth), Isa Burke on harmony vocals, fiddle, and electric guitar (Lula Wiles), and Sean Trischka on drums (Lula Wiles, Corporate Punk, Mattie & Debbie). "Every Bright Penny" drops this May (2020).


-Robb Donker Curtius




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Inspired by the records her parents played in her childhood home in Washington D.C.,

Liv Greene’s passion for songs started in early childhood. That passion took off the moment she taught herself her first guitar chords at age 12. Records like Patty Griffin’s Living With Ghosts, Shawn Colvin’s A Few Small Repairs, and the catalogs of Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss led Greene down the path of both the musician and the woman she wanted to be.

Storytelling moved her, and Greene wanted to command a room like the great women she grew up listening to had. In her freshman year in high school, her parents told her they’d send her to a songwriting camp if she could find one under $900. Greene discovered Miles of Music Camp, an all-ages camp that described itself as a “creative crossroads between timeless traditional music and modern songwriting.” Greene says, “I remember that week so clearly, the fiddle tunes, the incredible songs, the real-life professional musicians who were larger than life to me, and yet, just ordinary people.” Miles of Music Camp introduced her to Americana, old-time, and bluegrass and connected her with young people with similar interests. Deeply inspired, at 15-years-old she made the decision to be a musician then and there. This commitment led her in her senior year to Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan for songwriting. She graduated in 2016 with honors, a Fine Arts Award in songwriting, a 2016 YoungArts Finalist in voice/singer-songwriter, and the songwriting department’s Artist of the Year Award.

This was just the prelude to her budding career as the musician she set out to be. Chosen from over 700 applicants, in 2019, Greene won the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Competition for Emerging Singer-Songwriters after competing among 32 finalists. That same year she was also selected to participate in the Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar and named the first alternate in the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Contest for songwriters.

Now 21, Greene gives back to other young musicians in the way others had for her. She teaches songwriting and guitar through private lessons and has taught in classroom settings at the Passim School of Music and Interlochen Arts Camp’s songwriting program. While educating others she remains committed to educating herself. She’s still immersed in the New England Folk scene where her involvement started in high school. It was that community that influenced her decision to study music in the heart of New England’s vibrant folk scene, at New England Conservatory in Boston. Greene is currently a senior at NEC, studying Contemporary Improvisation on guitar and voice, a program that has fostered other Americans artists like Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan.

Greene’s songwriting is going through its own metamorphosis. Given that she started writing seriously at such a young age with little life experience, she says, “I am firmly in the practice of writing fiction.” Inspired by songs like Patty Griffin’s “Making Pies” and “Top of the World,” one of her first complete songs penned at 14 was about an old woman looking back at her life.

As Greene accumulates life experiences, she’s ventured into writing from her own experience, although the majority of her upcoming record, Every Bright Penny, is from that same place: a mix of wandering imagination and real emotions. She says, “I expect that as I live more life this trend of going inward will continue, as it is really rewarding to process, and share, your own emotions and experiences through writing.”

The current age we’re living in is a reminder of how important it is to share experiences, tell stories, and listen to other people sharing their experiences. Greene says, “I firmly believe that songs are vehicles with which we connect with one another, feel less alone, and better understand the world around us.” As Greene grows as a writer, she’s excited to venture into more complicated stories and subject matters, but in the meantime, she’s proud of the upcoming album which includes universal messages about love, self-doubt, bravery, and change.

Greene will share those lessons and experiences with a sprinkle of fiction upon the release of Every Bright Penny in May 2020.