“A rock kid who is obsessed with old music” is one way Cristina Vane describes her distinctive sound built around her command of several instruments and confidence as a singer. The release of Hear My Call on February 21st marks her third full-length release since 2021 and reinforces Cristina’s place as a singer/songwriter with serious chops who is also a badass guitarist. Vane has a backstory that begins in Italy before a childhood in England and France and includes a half-American/half-Guatemalan heritage. Her musical roots may be classic rock, 90s Indie, and heavier rock but that is tempered by her passion for country and bluegrass, old time fiddle and banjo music, and pre-war blues tunes. “When it came to the album, I wanted it to be a reflection of who I am, not just of the old music that I’ve come to love,” she explains, “After being exposed to all of this music that was foreign to me, I am slowly figuring out how to find my own voice within it. It is the sound of growing up.”

Cristina earned her advanced practical musical education in Los Angeles. She began teaching herself to play slide in open tunings and started working at McCabe’s Guitar Shop while learning fingerstyle picking from Pete Steinberg, discovering the joy of playing clawhammer banjo, and busking on the Venice Boardwalk, all while practicing constantly. Four years later, she decided it was time to hit the road and crowd sourced her first tour which consisted of living out of her car for six months while also sleeping in tents and on strangers’ couches, but it ultimately took her to Nashville where she began serious recording. Check out her first studio album Nowhere Sounds Lovely (produced by Cactus Moser) and her follow-up Make Myself Me Again released a year later in 2022.

The 13 songs of Hear My Call (each written by Vane) build on the diversity of those records and continues to showcase Cristina’s excellent slide work on her iconic white National Reso-Phonic guitar as well as her sharp fingerpicking play and retro clawhammer banjo songs. Vane says, “I’ve spent so much time taking in everything around me, traveling to faraway places and learning from the people, cultures, customs and music they have to offer. This album is the harnessing of all of those experiences into a loud and proud expression of how they have made me who I am and given me something to say. It is a wonderful thing to feel aligned with who you are and to share it with the world.”

Her music defies categorization with each song finding a home in a different genre and some even sharing space in more than one. Cristina is not afraid to break out the banjo and turn things acoustic for a string band session like on the title track (which features a nifty guitar solo from Molly Tuttle), also “My Mountain,” and “Storm Brewing.” The band is her regular touring crew of drummer Roger Ross and Geoff Henderson on bass. “Cousin” Kenny Vaughan (from Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives) adds his Telecaster twang on “You Ain’t Special.” It’s just one of several rockers including “Little Girl from Nowhere,” “Hard Rock Bend,” and especially “Everything is Fine” which is as fine a garage rock banger you’ll ever want. Vane will make sure the blues are represented, and her snaky slide plays a big part in “Do You Want to Lose,” “Coming in Hot,” and “Shake It Babe,” a real stomper with a co-write credit to Mike Harris of Old Crow Medicine Show. Her strong vocals ring when the guitars get quiet. Road-weary lyrics like “I’m trying / Lord knows I keep on driving / Sometimes I’m tired of fighting / When the fight ain’t fair / Nothing’s promised / So I went right out and got it / I can tell you all about it / When I get there” from “Getting High in Hotel Rooms” and “Ate some candy I had just bought / I know he’s just being friendly / But this shit really gets me / I wanna say so but I don’t / I wish he’d love me better / Wish he’d do it by the letter / But I don’t think he could spell it out” from “Whims of Good Men” all benefit from her sincere delivery. Wrapping up the album, as any proper opus should, is the magnificent “Lost You in the Mountains” featuring a haunting vocal and an equally spooky slide guitar, each building to a strident conclusion.

There has already been a good bit of social media support for this new record including engaging videos and lots of excited posts from Vane herself. Beginning 2025 with her first-ever tour of Scandinavia and dates at festivals including the inaugural Unbroken Circle in Madison, Indiana are good signs of an active year for Cristina to share these new tunes to an ever-widening audience.

Find out more about Cristina at the links below:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Spotify