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 contemplative 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 Back Porch Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI, 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. As luck would have it, she was soon 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 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 16 years 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, homelessness and LGBTQ+ rights. In 2020, she released the long overdue double album "The Girl Who Stayed Lost in The Woods". 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!”