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Avery Hellman

@ismaymusic

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Alt folk singer-songwriter, new album ‘Half Truth’ out June 12 2026 on @fossilrecordsco 💿documentary project @findinglucindafilm

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Half Truth began when I took a poetry class to improve my songwriting and presented this poem-song to my teacher. I started with the image of a person standing in a circle, a line around them, almost like chalk on pavement. The line indicates the boundary between what a person thinks, and what they say. There were only certain words and ideas that this person allows to cross, and those words are painstakingly edited before becoming speech. There are parts of ourselves we show and share with others, and parts we obscure. To me is the meaning of a “Half Truth” in the context of this song. Additionally, writing about this whole inner world we often conceal also sparked a memory of a time when I was traveling up to the Klamath River and stayed at a riverside motel. The front desk person asked me why I was there, and afraid to be honest and admit I was scoping out a risky horseback trip, I lied and said “just coming up here to hang out.” There are so many times in my life where I communicate partial truths to avoid conflict, intimacy, or pain.
We went down to the @bigsurgrange in Big Sur in March to play a few tunes and worked with the great filmmaker @rosebushfilm and sound engineer Robert Cheek
The single version of this song is out today, hope you enjoy it 💫

Bass by by @jeffkisselldb
Drums by Jeff Wilson
E Guitar by Andy Allen-Fahlander-Hellman

#ismaymusic #fossilrecords #halftruth #bigsur #bigsurgrange taken in Big Sur Grange Hall by @ismaymusic

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5 months ago

I am so excited to be rolling out Fossil Records with my partner in crime Avery Hellman, known to the art world as @ismaymusic

Sign up for our Substack for exclusive content from Fossil artists and for upcoming releases and live events, such as @woollystarfest Festival and other amazing live performances. We can’t wait to have you along for the ride 🐴🐴🐴

Also, don’t forget our label mate @kevincarducci just put out a fabulous new song ‘The Money’ from his upcoming album
Find all of that at our website fossilrecordsco.com

- Margo

Photo by Mark Halski
#margocilker #fossilrecords #kevincarducci #ismaymusic by @ismaymusic

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6 months ago

We’re Launching a Label & Releasing an Album!
Dear amigos, It’s with great honor and excitement that I share I am launching a new record label called @fossilrecordsco I’ve partnered up with the lyrically gifted and celebrated artist @margocilker to share music and writing from the American West.
Regarding the album part — Just over a year ago, I went to upstate NY to work with @samcohenmanimal on a new record, poems in hand, melodies in the mind. We ended up writing several songs together, and voila out came Half Truth! I’m certainly proud of this third LP from this project I call ISMAY.

Today I’m sharing the first single American Flag, co written with my cuz @marty_squibbs and partner Andy, and suggesting hey there, why not grab yourself a pre-order on vinyl or CD?
www.ismaymusic.com/shop by @ismaymusic

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6 months ago

My lovely friend @margocilker put a record out today! The album is remarkable, and I believe it solidifies her place in the cannon of great writers of the American West. The songs are uncluttered (as with great writing) yet the stories run deep. We started @fossilrecordsco to bring this type of music into the world, and it’s an honor to play my little part in doing so 💫 go listen to Little White Cross and get you cd or vinyl or digi download
The album features new classics from Margo as well as other songwriters like Ian Tyson, Tom Petty, @seracahoone @christy_hays @forrestvantuyl @kevincarducci and Stephanie Davis
Photos by Mark Halski @scenicburrows
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#fossilrecords #margocilker #altcountry #brucerobison by @ismaymusic

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7 days ago

Wowee psyched to be opening for the legendary @rivershookforever this fall on the West Coast!
November 3 @hidive_denver Denver Colorado
November 5 @stateroompresents Lake City Utah
November 6 @shrinesocialclub Boise Idaho
November 7 @churchill.baker Baker City Oregon
November 9 @tractortavern Seattle Washington
November 10 @getdownpdx Portland Oregon
November 12 @littlesainthealdsburg Healdsburg California
November 13 @davislivemusic Davis California
November 17 @animascitytheatre Durango Colorado
November 19 @04center Austin Texas
November 20 @big.toploungehtx Houston Texas
#rivershook #ismay #ismaymusic by @ismaymusic

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18 days ago

The sweetest Sierra surroundings at the 5th annual Woollystar Music Festival back in June🥰

Check out festival curator @ismaymusic performing their song “American Flag” to a blissed out crowd. We’re feeling it too! 🌄

Watch the full song and learn more about its origins through the link in our bio.

🎥 by: @iknowweshould

Sound engineering by @musicbysoria by @ismaymusic

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23 days ago

See you later today Santa Rosa, a lil songwriters round (duo) and it’s free! @rsmfest taken in Railroad Square Music Festival by @ismaymusic

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a month ago

In case you missed it, this second single ‘The Let Down’ is now remixed out special for the radio, co written with home-skillet / producer @samcohenmanimal I’ll let you listen and decide what it’s all aboooot.
Special thanks to Anne Rothenstein for allowing me to use her piece ‘Blue Dress 1’ for this track
#theletdown #ismaymusic #fossilrecords #annerothenstein by @ismaymusic

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2 months ago

ALBUM REVIEW: Half Truth, writes Richard Marcus, finds @Ismaymusic exploring the perils and pitfalls of modern life with a true "poetic voice of extraordinary scope and vision."

https://rainbowrodeomag.com/ismay-half-truth/

#QueerCountry #Americana #CountryMusic #RootsMusic #LGBTQMusic #QueerMusic #LGBTQMusician #nonbinary #lgbtq #NonbinaryMusician A white AFAB person with wavy shoulder-length brown hair sits on a futon wrapped in a wool blanket. They wear a denim shirt and jeans. They hold a black and white guitar on their lap. Behind them are wood-paneled walls and a rack of guitars. by @ismaymusic

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2 months ago

Ismay are back with us this year, and they've got a new alt-country album, Hard Truth. Be there when they take the stage!
@ismaymusic
#HSB26
#hardlystrictlybluegrass by @ismaymusic

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It’s Bandcamp Friday, meaning all of the proceeds go directly to the artists for just the next 13 hours! Go get your copy of @margocilker Little White Cross (pre-order), @ismaymusic Half Truth, @kevincarducci Easy Does It or @forrestvantuyl Old Trails! As most of you know by now, the numbers are crazy, you’d have to stream a song over 2,000 times to give the artist the same support as buying one album one time. You can even get mp3s on @bandcamp if you don’t have a physical setup, and it’s the best way to keep Fossil digging up the music gems.
Thank you to all who have ordered already!
— Fossil Records Team
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#margocilker #fossilrecords #americanamusic #bandcampfriday by @ismaymusic

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2 months ago

On the Honest Edge of Being, the final video from our Big Sur session @bigsurgrange in March
This song began as a poem (hence the long title) set on a ranch on Sonoma Mountain. A brother and sister share an afternoon, gazing out the window, and consider what it is that the brother can do to lift up his sister.
Video by @rosebushfilm
Sound Engineer Robert Cheek
Song by Avery Hellman
Vocals and acoustic guitar Avery Hellman
Electric Guitar Andrew Allen-Fahlander
Drums Jeff Wilson
Upright Bass Jeff Kissell
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#bigsurgrange #singersongwriter #ismaymusic #indiefolk #fossilrecords taken in Big Sur Grange Hall by @ismaymusic

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3 months ago