Selena Tibert
Live - Listen - Reviews - Bio - Video - Contact
Selena Tibert is an alternative folk artist and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. Grounded in expertly crafted musical arrangements with a clear, rich vocal, her songs pulse with modern jazz and 70s folk influence. Lyrically, she treats personal and universal narratives with mythological reverence. Tibert has brought her enigmatic songs to life across the country, including storied NYC venues The Jalopy Theatre (opening for Joe Crookston), The Bowery Electric, Berlin, Rockwood Music Hall, and more.In June of 2024, Selena Tibert released her debut EP, The Fool. The record was produced, arranged, and engineered entirely by Tibert, and received praise across independent music media: “At the same time powerful and subtle, this voice expresses a full palette of emotions,” writes Indiefferential. York Calling dubbed it “a triumph, expertly bringing together emotional stories with unconventional instrumental arrangements.” Read More
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Live
6/26 | Jalopy Theatre - 7pm - Tickets
Opening for Joe Crookston
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Past NYC shows include -
The Jalopy Theatre, Purgatory BK, Heaven Can Wait, Berlin Under A, Rockwood Music Hall, Gold Sounds, Bowery Electric
Past Tour Cities -
Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland
Discography
Selena's debut EP "The Fool" makes its way through classic folk rock mixed modern pop and jazz, to delicate acoustic tracks with cinematic strings. The EP carefully shifts from minimalist setups to fuller and more intricate arrangements.
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In June of 2024, Selena Tibert released her debut EP, The Fool. The record was produced, arranged, and engineered entirely by Tibert, whose other skill lies in sourcing exceptional talent to help bring her vision to life. The EP was mixed and mastered by Tom Gardner at Rift Studios in Brooklyn, and features nuanced performances from Jesse Torres on guitar and bass, Evan Alexander Moore and Paul Ceglio on drums, Hannah Lynne Miller and Belle Shea on vocal harmonies, and Zoe Firn on violin and vocal harmonies. In live performance, these songs are lifted from their recorded arrangements with careful precision, while allowing room for adept improvisation from Tibert’s band.
Photos by Amir Nazar
Photo by Amir Nazar
Reviews
“Her new EP is a triumph, expertly bringing together emotional stories with unconventional instrumental arrangements…expressing its central themes against a composition that twists and turns in a mercurial way. I’ve not heard much like it. Classic folk elements blend with modern pop and jazz, and something else that’s completely undefinable.”- York Calling
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"I lingered over her lyrics, which share personal experiences like they were mythology... with nods to 60s and 70s folk that weave stories heavy with feeling that aren’t overly sentimental.” - Really Molly Murphy
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“…with organic and natural sounding instruments working well together to form something full-bodied but never overwhelming. It is the bass underbelly in every track that gives it a sense of grounding before the more ethereal and melodic components take center stage.”
- Indiefferential Magazine
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“The acoustic instrumentals are stunning and the production quality is top-notch. Her lyrics are deeply touching and mesh perfectly with the vocal melodies to create a unique and haunting atmosphere.”
- Cheers To The Viking
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About
Selena Tibert is an alternative folk artist and musician based in Brooklyn. Grounded in expertly crafted musical arrangements with a clear, rich vocal, her songs pulse with modern jazz and 70s folk influence. Lyrically, she treats personal and universal narratives with mythological reverence, best exemplified in each line of her latest record, The Fool.Raised in ruggedly beautiful Camano Island, WA in the Pacific Northwest, Selena Tibert’s early life was colored with music and storytelling. Her parents, also musicians, raised her on genre classics like Carole King, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. She’s brought her enigmatic songs to life across the country from Seattle and Portland to Boston and beyond, including storied NYC venues The Jalopy Theatre (opening for Joe Crookston), The Bowery Electric, Berlin, Rockwood Music Hall, and more.
Photo by Sam Roller
In June of 2024, Selena Tibert released her debut EP, The Fool. The record was produced, arranged, and engineered entirely by Tibert, whose other skill lies in sourcing exceptional talent to help bring her vision to life. The EP was mixed and mastered by Tom Gardner at Rift Studios in Brooklyn. In live performance, these songs are lifted from their recorded arrangements with careful precision, while allowing room for adept improvisation from Tibert’s band.
Sonically, the record is both grounded and mercurial, evoking Marika Hackman and Anaïs Mitchell. “At the same time powerful and subtle, this voice expresses a full palette of emotions,” writes Indiefferential.Her two previous releases, singles “Where It’s Dark” and “Feels Like a Sin”, are impressive standalones. “Where It’s Dark”, Tibert’s first release and also self-produced, is darkly inviting, blending acoustic folk with gently synthesized vocal harmonies. Drawing comparisons to 70s rock storytellers Uriah Heep and legendary singer-songwriter Janis Ian, The Other Side Reviews writes: “The soothing, almost raw arrangement draws you into a spine-chilling melody; however, it is Tibert’s ethereal vocals that enhance a sense of intoxicating breathlessness to the haunting single.”“Feels Like a Sin” acts thematically like sister-song to “Where It’s Dark”, but leans more heavily on the modern folk sounds of Laura Marling or Haley Heynderickx. Deftly addressing feelings of social anxiety, it’s a deeply personal song without being overly sentimental or self-deprecating; another testament to Tibert’s writing.Selena Tibert has released sold out direct-to-vinyl sessions with Leesta Vall Sound Recordings in Brooklyn, and produced, arranged, and engineered the single “Sweet Thing” with fellow NYC folk duo Hearth.
In Response - Single out 7/8
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“In Response” is a joyful alt-folk track that envisions a life of simplicity and beauty in spite of our own challenges and shortcomings. It’s about finding love and seeing it through. The track was written in response to Tibert’s wife’s vows, which told a story of their future together in a little cabin full of music, art and animals (notably chickens). The song features intimate vocals, “guitarmonies”, driving drums and violin, which acts as a counter melody in conversation with the vocals. “In Response” brings together modern alt-folk with 70’s folk sensibilities. “In Response” acts as a grounded and self-assured followup to her self produced 2024 debut EP “The Fool”.
Lyrics:There'll be a wooden house and
Flowers in the lawn
A quiet valley built out for you and me
And the sounds we'll hear
Rising with the sun
Caught on your lips and melting in the breezeIt matters
That I'm holding you
Just how I know your there
And want it too
You want it tooI'm not one to pry
Or sit alone in thought
But you've got a gentle face and quiet needs
This lucky card I've pulled
From your winning hand
There's a careless ease giving into itNo matter where
We're crashing to
I'll keep you safe up in the air
And know I flew
I know I flewHold the line we're calling to
The holy and the wicked who
Have sealed a pact for time
Holly trees and dewy air
Dueling frames in wicker chairs
We're living high
And your lost in mine
And you want it too
You want it too