Rarely does modern music earn the badge timeless, but BEL cuts through the noise. Hailing from the small town of Clovis, California, Isabel Whelan crafts nostalgic songs with honesty and attention to detail, occupying the intersection of indie, pop, and folk, while taking cues from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, and Mazzy Star.
In 2022, BEL released four singles (including collaborations with girlhouse and Boyish), which culminated in the release of her sophomore EP, Jet Lag. Throughout the rollout, she steadily built a core fanbase on socials while receiving support from Sirius XM (300+ organic plays), Pandora (2 playlist covers), Spotify, Apple, and several publications. BEL headlined the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and supported Isaac Dunbar, Beach Weather, and Kristiane, positioning herself on the precipice of the indie zeitgeist.
After landing on a handful of "Artists to Watch in '23," lists, BEL has been steadily releasing a string of singles leading up to her third EP due out later this year. The project's collaborators include Sean Silverman (Beach Weather), Jack Laboz, Jon Santana, Day Wave + more. Her single "Are You Okay?," reached #1 on SiriusXMU organically in April/May 2023 along with support on AltNation and KCRW. After her recent direct support for Boyish on their June 2023 US tour, and upcoming Mind The Gap festival, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year of releases and live performances for BEL.
