Jetty Rae

A solo artist as well as a member of indie folk duo Pen Pals, Jetty Rae is a singer and songwriter of typically good-natured acoustic pop. Born in Springfield, Oregon, Rae spent part of her childhood in California and Colorado before her missionary parents settled down in Charlevoix, Michigan, where she attended high school. After graduating, Rae trained with Youth with a Mission in Kona, Hawaii, and traveled to China and Fiji, among other locales, for her own missionary work. At the age of 20, she released her debut LP, 2007's Blackberries, which highlighted her knack for sophisticated melodies with spare accompaniment by acoustic guitar and strings. She followed it with Nobody EP in late 2009, and in 2010 she was picked by Sarah McLachlan and Terry McBride to appear at the Detroit edition of Lilith Fair. Rae's second full-length was La La Lu and the Lazy Moon, a self-described "lullaby album" released by Sunshine Wreckchords in 2011. Drowning in Grain followed in February 2012, and on March 30 of that year she recorded Live from the Groove Box Studios, which was issued a month later. Rae returned with her fourth studio album, Climbing Clouds, in August of 2013. Two months later, she made her debut at the CMJ Music Festival in New York. Her first Christmas album, More Than December, arrived in time for the holiday season of 2014. In 2015, Rae formed the indie folk duo Pen Pals with worship/folk musician Heath McNease. They released the project's debut, Gold, in the second half of 2015, following it with I Disappear in 2017. That year, Rae also released the solo album Can't Curse the Free. Featuring production by Grammy winner Mitch Dane, it was issued via Tone Tree Music. ~ Marcy Donelson