Today we’d like to introduce you to Siri Undlin
Hi Siri , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a musician and writer living here in the Twin Cities. Songwriting and storytelling have been foundational in my life from the very beginning. There isn’t a time I can remember when I wasn’t making up songs in my head and singing them for family or basking in the stories around the kitchen table, in Sunday school, or from a Disney movie.
I love the way you can go places in your imagination – and potentially bring people with you if you can communicate the ideas in a compelling way.
I started learning to play guitar in middle school, and in between hockey seasons I would write songs and perform them- often cajoling friends into joining me. Eventually, I ended up going to school at Perpich Center for the Arts here in the Twin Cities, and being surrounded by talented peers was like jet fuel for my own dreams of pursuing a creative life.
This led to studying Creative Writing and Anthropology at Colorado College and a year of inquiry as a Watson Fellow. Experiences in academia were a grounding force in what was a passion for the whimsical, but I soon diverged from the classroom, craving the realness and the chaos of the world as songs and stories unfolded in real-time. I’ve been adventuring, learning, and building a small business in this spirit ever since. Humbird, my current focus, is the accumulation of a lot of that and it’s been a wild ride so far. My third full-length album was released this spring via Nettwerk Music Group, it’s called “Right On” and it’s my best music yet. These days I’m busy touring the country and writing new ideas.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a bamboozling combination of hard knocks and good luck. Spending weeks on end away from home and living in a van with your bandmates is no easy feat and witnessing the world as you travel from town to town with your instruments can be such an intense way to witness the hope and despair that make up our society. Ordinary people perform miracles everyday – I’ve seen it. And also, we could be so much more for each other, for this planet. It’s a heartwrenching juxtaposition to observe and respond to.
It’s also such a privilege to make a living through art in these times, but the music industry ecosystem in our modern age is deeply extractive and always changing, so it’s a small business nightmare. At the end of the day, I believe in the power of music and community. Everything else, I weather the best I can.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work really hard on the lyrics for every song I write, and my bandmates and I work so hard collectively to make the songs come alive in exciting, emotive ways. I think that because we love making music and inviting people into that experience, our live performances are really special.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was pretty curious and pensive as a kid. Fairly weird and pushing against what felt formulaic or pre-prescribed. I am still very much on that train. It’s made me a good observer, and maybe a chronic overthinker, as I’ve grown older.
Pricing:
- Right On Vinyl LP – $30
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.humbirdmusic.com
- Instagram: @humbirdhumbird
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humbirdhumbird/
