Clare Doyle

‘It was a hell of a year,’ says Americana artist-to-watch Clare Doyle, reflecting on a breakout year in which she was named one of First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2023, an Emerging Artist of 2024 by Music in Minnesota, and released three debut singles which garnered immediate attention for their infectious blend of soulful country and rootsy rock, and a bold lyricism that’s hailed as “a fresh perspective in emotional storytelling” by Music in Minnesota.

Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Doyle grew up singing along with her mom’s Johnny Cash CDs and her dad’s Gibson acoustic, and dreamt of becoming a musician. She taught herself to play and write on a borrowed guitar in a college dorm room and began planning a move to Nashville, but found herself fighting brutal self-doubt and influences that kept her from embracing her talent.

Doyle had settled in New Orleans until the pandemic forced a move back to her hometown, where she began to write and rediscover the musical identity she’d neglected for years. Armed with a decade of heartache, adventure, addiction, and life on the road, she began to alchemize raw emotions into a collection of songs that run the gamut from clever and rollicking, to gritty and gut-wrenching. 

Initially inspired to write by artists like Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard, now Doyle incorporates both classic and contemporary sensibilities into her songs - she draws on a range of influences to write candidly about loving, losing, hurting, and making a hot mess of things. “A lot of artists cite Jason Isbell or Ruston Kelly as…inspirations, but rarely do you hear the attention to detail and knack for describing emotions that prove they’ve really learned from those two master storytellers,” writes Carol Roth of Adventures in Americana, “With Doyle, you can tell.”

In a short span, Doyle has established a reputation for a mesmerizing live show that brings audiences along for a ride - from the electrifying heights of a cathartic anthem to pin-drop-quiet intensity in a breakup ballad - and has become a fixture on some of the region’s most legendary stages. She has been tapped to support artists such as The Cactus Blossoms, Turn Turn Turn, Them Coulee Boys, and Dallas Ugly and has toured regionally throughout the Midwest.

With exciting plans on the horizon, including new projects to release, expanded touring, and festival appearances, Doyle is poised for big moves in 2024.