Love Your Local Band: Lindsie Feathers

In August, Lindsie Feathers relocated to Santa Cruz from Portland, where she lived for over a decade and played many gigs. She even recorded a self-titled album with her band Neon Renaissance.

She didn’t come here to play music, but a friend who found out that Feathers would be living here invited her to open a show at the Crepe Place. Right around the same time, Feathers met Santa Cruz legend Patti Maxine, and asked if she’d sit in for this show. Just like that, Feathers was part of the local scene.

“I was like wow, Santa Cruz is really opening their arms to me in this really wonderful way. In a short amount of time, I felt really welcomed here,” Feathers says. “Every time I say, ‘Music, I’m leaving you,’ it’s like, ‘No, you’re not.’ It comes back creeping in. And I welcome it lovingly.”

Feathers’ roots go back to Illinois, where she grew up, and Chicago, where she cut her teeth playing live music. She’s gone from playing rock ’n’ roll to psychedelic to psychedelic-country to roots-Americana-influenced music.

“The roots and the Americana, the singer-songwriter style, it really resonates with me. My voice is really good in that style,” Feathers says. “I’m going through a personal transformation. My writing is shifting, my performances are different. That’s both scary and exciting.”