Cariad Harmon at The Glee Oxford

Listening to Cariad Harmon, it’s hard to believe that the singer-songwriter spent much of her youth galavanting through the streets of London and dancing until the wee hours to house and techno DJs. After the parties, Harmon returned home to secretly throw on a Tracy Chapman or Bob Dylan album and strum her acoustic guitar. Her own songs are influenced as much by contemporary artists Father John Misty and Ray Lamontagne as legends such as The Band and Carole King, Harmon’s most obvious talent lies in her ability to tell stories.

Being caught between two worlds is a common echo in Harmon’s life. She grew up on the crossroads of two cultures: the cynical sensibility of England, and the romantic innocence of the American dream. With an English mother and an American father, Harmon has often struggled with feeling like an outsider in both worlds; she now embraces this feeling in her folk-inspired songwriting, which can be ironic, cheeky, vulnerable, and euphoric at times.

Harmon’s range in style stems from experiences in frustration, confrontation, and new beginnings, with surviving the precariousness of New York City serving as the overarching theme on her upcoming album. Both of Harmon’s Grandmothers, were talented artists who never had the chance to realize their potential because of the times they lived in; her family’s story feeds Harmon’s no-excuses attitude and readiness to scrap for her dreams.