Amy Obenski

Amy Obenski's soothing yet powerful vocals lay at the forefront of her music treating each word with care and attention. The music glides seamlessly between Folk, Jazz and Rock, with her vocals shape-shifting to fit the mood. With what have been described as "gripping" lyrics and "haunting" vocals, Amy's songs are conveyed to the audience on an extraordinarily intimate level.
In 2007 her song, "Carousel", was heard on the TV show Grey's Anatomy, taking the song to number twenty-three on the iTunes Folk Chart. Before that, her second album had been receiving play on MTV's program, MADE, which is still using her music today. Both successes have come to her by surprise. The first album, What We Tell, was discovered by an MTV executive who randomly heard her music on someone's iPod. A few years later, and on a whim, an editor placed the song from her second album onto Grey's Anatomy.
Amy is currently working on building the songs for a fourth album. This time her approach is slightly different. "I'm waiting for the right timing," says Amy. "My previous albums were done in a hurry because I felt like I needed to put out an album every two years at least. This time I'm waiting to have a full collection of songs that I am completely in love with and I'm waiting for the musicians and recording space to come together in a more natural way. I think this approach will have a profound affect on the sound of the album. Luckily, since I'm an independent artist I have the kind of freedom to make that choice."
Based out of Santa Cruz, California, Obenski tours mostly through the West Coast of the United States and plays steadily in the San Francisco Bay Area. She's performed in notable venues such as Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco, Don Quixote's in Santa Cruz, and has opened for the John Butler Trio in Los Angeles.
Her musical history stretches back to age five, when she began singing in her school choir. She spent her childhood in arts related public schools and started private piano lessons at age seven. While attending UC Santa Cruz she minored in music while acquiring a degree in Environmental Studies. She has used both of these skills by creating a series of benefit concerts called Take Back Your Forest. Two successful concerts have happened so far: The first being in Santa Cruz, California, in 2007 and the second being in San Jose, California, in 2010. Collectively they have raised six thousand dollars for the Sempervirens Fund, an organization that purchases and protects redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains.