Singer/songwriter Melissa Engleman blends haunting, dreamy, alt-country-folk with whispers of the blues. Born in Kansas and raised in Texas, she grew up listening to Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones and the Beatles. After writing melodies and lyrics from a young age, she picked up guitar to accompany herself, but was too shy to play in front of people. She studied performance and playwriting in college to help overcome her shyness and made the move to Austin, TX.
In 2010 she released “At the Hotel Cafe”, a live recording of her set during a songwriter showcase in Los Angeles, CA. In 2019 she released “Forsaken Songs” a collection of elegantly spare recordings presented as a digital mixtape experience. These songs were written between 1995 and 2010 and recorded in two states, five cities, two houses, one studio, one coffee shop and a backyard.
Later that year she was also selected in an ongoing talent search by Plaid Dog Recording in Boston, MA. The studio assisted her in running, organizing and successfully funding her first Indiegogo campaign for her debut studio album “Love, Death and Mexico”.
Since its release, “Waiting For You” , the promotional single for “Love, Death and Mexico”, has garnered over 75,000 plays on Spotify. Daily Austin Music Single Review said “There’s so much depth in the vocals and the performance. This track has a great groove with really nice subtle counter-melodies.”
Melissa has performed around Austin for the last 14 years. These performances include the Long Center, the White Horse, Cactus Cafe, Ginny’s Little Longhorn, a two year long Happy Hour residency at the Hole in the Wall, house concerts, private and corporate events, fundraisers, various coffee shops and dive bars, singing the national anthem at Bobcat Stadium, and recently her first Swan Songs concert.
She also recently performed on the Singer and the Song on the KOOP station and was featured on the 78644 podcast.
“Love, Death and Mexico” is a three-part album centered around the themes of love, grief and her experiences living 50 miles from the Mexican border. The first of the albums, delayed by the pandemic, is set for release in Fall of 2023.