Quality Americana

Mei Lin Heirendt stands silently and looks off into the distance for her single “Enough,” a beautifully polished bluegrass offering that blends with traditional folk.

Heirendt watched her father perform with local groups Challenge the Light and Tumble while growing up in Grass Valley, California, and started learning the violin at seven years old. 

“I started with the Suzuki violin method, and learned by ear, and by sight reading for about five years,” Heirendt said.

Inspiration through Bluegrass

She attended the California Bluegrass Association’s annual Father’s Day Festival and instantly found a connection to the traditional style. 

“We’ve got a really great music and arts scene here,” Heirendt said. “They have a really great program started by Frank Sullivan Sr., who was a wonderful mentor, called Kids on Bluegrass, which kind of inspired me to pursue bluegrass more seriously I suppose, just seeing a lot of other kids my age love the music, and I’ve been growing up at that festival every year.” 

Heirendt joined Broken Compass at just 16 years old and performs with the group full time. They have a new album scheduled for release next month. 

“We are kind of a jam-grass band,” Heirendt said. “We’ve all grown up at that festival and kind of reconnected just a couple of years ago.” 

“We mix the bluegrass roots that we’ve been inspired by with, kind of, jamband music in terms of stretched out improv jams in the middle of songs, and a little bit of Grateful Dead inspiration… Billy Strings style, I’m not sure you’ve heard of him,” Heirendt says with a laugh. “We’re kind of following the wave of that right now.”

Heirendt releases “Enough”

Heirendt has honed her craft in just over a decade, eager to jump into a full-time touring schedule in the Pacific Northwest and Europe. Her debut single “Enough” is an artistic journey that explores her individuality.

“I definitely wanted to have some music under my own name and kind of have that identity,” Heirendt said. “I feel like it’s really important when, you know, you’re in a group that isn’t necessarily your own personal creative outlet to also have some sort of identifier for yourself as well.”

“Enough” features hand-picked artists and “Wasting the Silence” features support on arrangement from her Broken Compass mandolinist. Heirendt performs an excellent vocal and fiddle track for this impressive debut.

“I wrote enough my sophomore year in high school when I was supposed to be paying attention in history class, “Heirendt said, “so I was in the back typing away. When you have creative ideas you can’t stop them.” 

The message focuses on the “universal dilemma” of trying to live up to expectations that we hold ourselves to, or that others expect of us. Heirendt graduated high school two years early to pursue a career in music, and forging this path took a lot of courage. After hearing this debut, it’s clear Heirendt made the right choice.

More information on Mei Lin Heirendt can be found here.

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