Born in Galway, Ireland but raised in Yorkshire, England, Holly Macve is an alt-country singer who incorporates yodeling and melisma into a version of Western-styled noir. Macve spent the bulk of her childhood at her grandparents' home with a classical composer grandfather and a mother who sang and collected records by legends of blues, country, early rock, and jazz. Having sung since around the time she could talk, she picked up guitar and piano along the way, and in her late teens left for Brighton, where she got a job at a café. It wasn't long before, in 2015, she signed with Bella Union after label runner Simon Raymonde heard her at an open mike in town. She played her first show in the United States at 2016's South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and earned tour invites to open for the likes of John Grant, Benjamin Clementine, and Ryley Walker based on live performances and an early demo. In March 2017, at the age of 21, she released her debut album, Golden Eagle. Recorded with Paul Gregory of Lanterns on the Lake at his home studio, it evoked scenes of neglected American landscapes despite its English origins. September 2017's Covers EP, featured songs made famous by acts such as Melanie, Robbie Basho, the Everly Brothers and Ryan Adams, but was ultimately her final release for Bella Union. Summer 2018 double bills in the U.K. with contemporaries such as Jade Bird and Emily Barker kept her focused on live performance, as did trips to Norway and the U.S. However, 2019 proved to be a quiet year for Macve, one which she capped off with a couple more U.S. dates and a strong, self-released Emmylou Harris-inspired single, "Another Day." 2020's global COVID-19 pandemic restricted further live activity, but she emerged from it with a new record deal, courtesy of Modern Sky, and a lush set of new recordings. The stand-alone, seasonal single, "Wonder" was her first release for the label, but it was January 2021's radio-friendly "Be My Friend" which encapsulated her restless, heartache-filled country pop in one song. This was followed in February by "Daddy's Gone" -- written a few years earlier, following the passing of her father -- and March's "Eye of the Storm." All three early 2021 singles were included on spring's Not The Girl, a culmination of the previous few years' personal and professional experience. ~ Marcy Donelson & James Wilkinson