Helene Cronin

In 2018, Cronin was declared a New Folk winner at the prestigious [[Kerrville Folk Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |title=Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist History from Happenstance and Doug Coppock |url=http://www.happenstance-music.com/KFF_History.html}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |language=en |title=Kerrville Folk Festival Discography |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/label/621284-Kerrville-Folk-Festival?srsltid=AfmBOoolGh14egMYhzEdmk1ih8hE6gWg6Om9lUtmH_bOGKC0w1McYaAS}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> It is the longest continuously running music festival in the United States and attracts innovative songwriters and fans from all over the world; the six winners will be selected from 800 competitors.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |author=Texas State Historical Association |language=en |title=Kerrville Folk Festival: A Legacy of Music and Community |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/kerrville-folk-festival}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In 2018, Cronin was declared a New Folk winner at the prestigious [[Kerrville Folk Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |title=Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist History from Happenstance and Doug Coppock |url=http://www.happenstance-music.com/KFF_History.html}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |language=en |title=Kerrville Folk Festival Discography |website=[[Discogs]] |url=https://www.discogs.com/label/621284-Kerrville-Folk-Festival?srsltid=AfmBOoolGh14egMYhzEdmk1ih8hE6gWg6Om9lUtmH_bOGKC0w1McYaAS}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> It is the longest continuously running music festival in the United States and attracts innovative songwriters and fans from all over the world; the six winners will be selected from 800 competitors.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |author=Texas State Historical Association |language=en |title=Kerrville Folk Festival: A Legacy of Music and Community |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/kerrville-folk-festival}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In 2019, she began working with Matt King as a producer and the album ''Old Ghosts & Lost Causes'' was born, featuring five original songs and six collaborations. The recordings involved some top-class studio musicians in Nashville such as [[Kenny Vaughan]] and Byron House, as well as sound engineer and Grammy award-winner [[Mitch Dane]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8">{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |title=20 Minutes With Helene Cronin : New Album " Maybe New Mexico " Available 7th March {{!}} Country Lowdown |url=https://countrylowdown.com/2025/03/05/20-minutes-with-helene-cronin-new-album-maybe-new-mexico-available-7th-march/}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> It was a big step for Cronin to hire a band, go into a studio in Nashville and have a creative producer who raised the level of her work significantly. A review noted stylistic similarities between Cronin's work and that of [[Leonard Cohen]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |author=John Apice |date=2019-10-10 |language=en-US |title=REVIEW: Helene Cronin's "Old Ghosts & Lost Causes" is a Brilliant Resumé • Americana Highways |url=https://americanahighways.org/2019/10/10/review-helene-cronins-old-ghosts-lost-causes-is-a-brilliant-resume/}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name=":7" />

In 2019, she began working with Matt King as a producer and the album ''Old Ghosts & Lost Causes'' was born, featuring five solo-written songs and six collaborations. The recordings involved some top-class studio musicians in Nashville such as [[Kenny Vaughan]] and Byron House, as well as sound engineer and Grammy award-winner [[Mitch Dane]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8">{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |title=20 Minutes With Helene Cronin : New Album " Maybe New Mexico " Available 7th March {{!}} Country Lowdown |url=https://countrylowdown.com/2025/03/05/20-minutes-with-helene-cronin-new-album-maybe-new-mexico-available-7th-march/}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> It was a big step for Cronin to hire a band, go into a studio in Nashville and have a creative producer who raised the level of her work significantly. A review noted stylistic similarities between Cronin's work and that of [[Leonard Cohen]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-01 |author=John Apice |date=2019-10-10 |language=en-US |title=REVIEW: Helene Cronin's "Old Ghosts & Lost Causes" is a Brilliant Resumé • Americana Highways |url=https://americanahighways.org/2019/10/10/review-helene-cronins-old-ghosts-lost-causes-is-a-brilliant-resume/}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name=":7" />

=== From 2020 onwards ===

=== From 2020 onwards ===

The momentum following the award in Kerrville and this successful album disappeared during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. But Cronin kept traveling to Nashville and began writing about 60 songs a year. She then had enough songs to choose from for the album ''Landmarks'' (2023).<ref name=":3" /> King also encouraged her to sing with more bite and power—she had always thought of herself as a quiet, folky singer, and was now encouraged to use her voice to its full potential.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> With the exception of the drummer, the band consisted of the same artists as on the previous album. With 12 songs, one solo-written and eleven co-written, Cronin began to lose faith in herself as a solo writer. After this record, Cronin began to focus on writing alone again and regained it. One way of doing this was to join a songwriting prompt group with five or so Texas artists, writing songs based on a keyword or a prompt.<ref name=":7" />

The award in Kerrville and the successful album initially gave Cronin considerable momentum in her career. However, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], she lost momentum in building her profile and booking gigs, though not in her creative work. As concerts were hardly possible, she focused more on songwriting and began writing around 40 to 60 songs a year. She then had enough songs to choose from for the album ''Landmarks'' (2023).<ref name=":3" /> King also encouraged her to sing with more bite and power—she had always thought of herself as a quiet, folky singer, and was now encouraged to use her voice to its full potential.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> With the exception of the drummer, the band consisted of the same artists as on the previous album. With 12 songs on the album – one written solo and eleven co-written – Cronin felt the need to return to writing on her own. After completing the record, she regained this focus by joining a songwriting prompt group with several Texas artists, where they wrote songs based on keywords or prompts.<ref name=":7" />

At the end of 2023, Cronin's EP ''Beautiful December'' was released with six Christmas-themed songs.<ref name=":5" />

At the end of 2023, Cronin's EP ''Beautiful December'' was released with six Christmas-themed songs.<ref name=":5" />