Dallas-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde harpist, and multidisciplinary artist Jess Garland released her debut album, GLOW, on Aug. 28 on all streaming platforms. According to a press release, the album’s seven tracks include both instrumental compositions and vocal-driven works, placing the harp at the center of atmospheric soundscapes shaped by guitar, vocals, loops, percussion, gongs, finger cymbals, bells, repetition, and mantra-like choruses. Garland timed the release to coincide with the close of Black August and Black Philanthropy Month. Album sales will benefit Swan Strings, the nonprofit music education organization Garland founded in 2017.
“GLOW represents transformation for me,” Garland says. “[The album] is about moving through darkness, releasing what needs to be released, and allowing yourself to become something new. I wanted the harp to exist without boundaries—to be delicate, distorted, rhythmic, meditative, loud, repetitive, and powerful. As my art grows, I want that growth to create greater access for others.”
Garland is the founder and president of Swan Strings, a nonprofit providing free music education, community concerts, and sound therapy services throughout North Texas. Garland’s multidisciplinary body of work includes the award-winning documentary Behind the Strings: Amplifying Black Feminism in Guitar Culture, the art film and composition Harp and Sol, and Luminescence, an interdisciplinary performance featuring her custom 3D-printed laser harp. Her work has been recognized with the Visit Dallas Maverick, Can-Do Spirit Award for Arts & Entertainment, Wild Turkey Local Legend Award, and Chase Bank Entreprenista of the Year Award. Learn more on her website.
