Ashley Pond

A singer before she could speak, Ashley Pond has a musical presence you'll have to hear to believe. Though Pond will sing just about anywhere for anyone, she manages to maintain the subtle mystery of a heavy heart, casting out her rolling rant, reeling in and recounting experiences from her own life.

Ashley Pond left her small hometown just north of the Adirondack Mountains to study music in Albany, NY. It was only a matter of time before Pond had written and recorded her debut solo album, entitled Dala, released in October of 2007.

Metroland Magazine named her "Best New Solo Artist" in their aptly titled Best of 2007 issue, and then followed up with a cover story in October, formally introducing her to a readership of 100,000 people. "Her soulful voice sweeps from sassy purr to assured wail, and her guitar work is intricate and interesting" (Metroland Magazine, Vol. 30, No. 29, Jul. 2007).

Dala was on The Times Union's top 10 Local Albums of 2007. "Brimming over with moody mystery, singer-songwriter Pond's glistening debut mixes folk, blues and rock. Captivating stuff" (Greg Haymes, Times Union- Best Records of 2007).

Her current ensemble, a self sufficient trio known as the Ashley Pond Band, hit the ground running soon after Dala was released.      

The Ashley Pond Band has traveled from the North Country's mountain bars to New York City's rock clubs.  They've played to hushed historic cafes, only to turn around and command the attention of an audience of 2,000 or more when they opened for Grammy Award winning artist, Aimee Mann.

"Bandleader Pond's combination of jangly, heavily-reverb'd electric guitar and husky, quavering voice projected a haunted, bluesy quality that offset her bandmates' indie chops for a striking contrast. Bassist Sarah Clark and drummer Scott Smith made perfect use of dynamics, growing even more powerful and absorbing when they brought the volume down." (Saby Reyse-Kulkarni, Rochester City Newspaper)

The Ashley Pond Band recently brought an eclectic mixture of new material to Albany's North Sea Studio. The album is slated for release in Summer 2009.