Alela Diane

Alela Diane

Alela Diane Menig (born April 20, 1983, Nevada City, California, USA) is an American singer and songwriter. She grew up singing with her musician parents and performing in the school choir. She taught herself guitar, and began writing songs which blend tense, trance-like arpeggios with warm vocals and meditative lyrics about family and nature. Her first recordings were self-released in 2003 as Forest Parade. Her first solo public appearances were at the invitation of fellow Nevada City native Joanna Newsom. She also did a stint in the Nevada City slow grass band Black Bear before continuing with her solo pursuits. The songs for her album, "The Pirate's Gospel", were written on a trip to Europe. They were recorded in her father’s studio and were initially self-released in 2004, in paper and lace sleeves with hand lettering. The album was issued in revised form by Holocene Music in October 2006, and received widespread critical acclaim. A new song, "Dry Grass and Shadows", was issued on a compilation of Nevada City artists, and five more new songs were issued on a limited-edition 10" vinyl pressing, Songs Whistled Through White Teeth, released in the UK in October 2006. The Pirate's Gospel was released in the UK on Names Records in April 2007, garnering favorable reviews in The Times and NME. Alela Diane has toured in the USA both solo and with Tom Brosseau, and has also opened for the Decemberists, Akron/Family and Vashti Bunyan. She performed in the UK in April and August 2007. She toured Europe (UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) in March, April and May 2008. Her second album, To Be Still, was released in February 2009 on Rough Trade Records. In early 2009, she toured the US opening for Blitzen Trapper, and spent the better part of that year touring Europe. Her third album, "Alela Diane & Wild Divine", was released in April 2011, and was recorded with a backing band, Wild Divine, which included her father, Tom Menig, and her then-husband, Tom Bevitori. She and Wild Divine toured the US and Europe to promote the album, and in July 2011, they opened for the Fleet Foxes on a string of dates. In the fall of the same year, she also accompanied Fleet Foxes as their opening act in Europe. In 2012, her song "Take Us Back" was featured on the end credits of the "No Time Left", the fifth and final episode of the adventure game The Walking Dead by Telltale Games. In 2019, the song was once again used near the end of The Walking Dead: The Final Season episode "Take us Back". Her fourth album, "About Farewell", was released on her own label, Rusted Blue Records, in digital format in June 2013, with the physical edition issued in July. In 2014, the track "The Light" appeared on The Walking Dead fourth season soundtrack, Songs of Survival Vol. 2. On October 16, 2015, Diane and guitarist Ryan Francesconi released the album "Cold Moon". Preceded by the single "Émigré", her fifth album, "Cusp", was released on February 9, 2018. . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.