After singing for her supper in the subways of Boston during college, Lily unleashed her voice on a wider audience with her independent debut “Running from the Sky” in 2000. Described by fans as “a somber fairy tale” the ethereal vocals and dark lyrics quickly earned a cult following resulting in the street singer selling over 20,000 copies as an unsigned artist. After graduating, Lily moved to Los Angeles where she continued to busk on the third street promenade in Santa Monica. With her steady street buzz she was a natural choice for the film, “Playing for Change”-a rockumentary highlighting the lives of 16 street musicians across the country. The film struck a chord with audiences and was added into rotation on the Sundance and Independent Film Channels. It also secured Lily her first record deal with BackPorch/Virgin Records with whom she would go on to release her second album “Everything Was Beautiful and Hurt.” in 2005.

 

Caught in the shuffle of folding record labels Lily soon found herself one of many displaced artists. Feeling a little tattered and torn from the grind of the industry, she moved back home to Boston but was quickly offered another record deal which would bring her to NYC. There she released a third album “Wicked Ways" in 2008, recorded at the legendary Cutting Room. After a year of incredible opportunities such as an opening performance for Brian Wilson at the Hammerstein Ballroom and a slot at New Jersey’s “All Points West” festival headlined by Radiohead, Lily found herself once again in a state of flux. With the rapidly changing state of the music industry, her label collapsed just as her new album was hitting the scene.

 

Determined not to give up, Lily felt herself being called back to the west, but this time to San Francisco where she was embraced by a beautifully diverse community. Throughout her time in the Bay area she used her music to raise awareness for the movements she feels the most passionate about- animal welfare, women's issues, poverty and homelessness and LGBTQ rights. In 2020, she released the long overdue double album "The Girl Who Stayed Lost in The Woods". After more than 15 years in bustling San Francisco Lily felt that is was time for another change. As of June 2024 she now calls St Petersburg, FL home and is excited to embrace the rich community of artists that reside here. In the words of legendary producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morisette, No Doubt): “Lily Holbrook is the real deal!”