E061: Melissa Holland on January 7, 2011 | archived on

guest: Musician, Writer, and Teacher Melissa Holland.

Melissa Holland is a singer/songwriter, flutist, and keyboardist. In each song she tells a story - reflecting personal growth and change and evoking empathy, images and pathos. She does this with confessional, conversational and often humorous lyrics. Her style is a mixture of pop, folk, classical, sometimes even jazz and country; but somehow it is all part of who she is and the musical journey she takes you on. She has been compared style-wise to Carol King and Laura Nyro. Her voice is reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins: clear, honest and flexible; both ethereal and down to earth, as she puts it, "head in the clouds, feet on the ground". Melissa has worked as a studio musician and performed with Pete Seeger, David Roth, Penny Nichols and Rex Fowler. During her stint as a classical flutist, she performed with members of the New York Philharmonic and was principal flute with the Bronx Symphony Orchestra. She formerly performed with the group "Holland, Thompson, and Tooch", and is on tour with her one-woman show, "I'm Not Bitter" at present.