The veteran rocker opens up for Local Spins, which also debuts new music by Resurrection Blues Band, Ada LeAnn, The Messenger Birds, May Erlewine and more. Story, podcast and video.
Making a Connection with Audiences: Carolyn Striho on stage. (Photo/Lynn Maslowski)
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Admittedly shy at heart, Carolyn Striho comes alive on stage – something she’s relished since performing for audiences even at a young age.
“I had this (feeling of) more freedom and kind of abandonment where I could do almost like performance art, but playing music,” the Detroit singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist said, calling it “a way to communicate. That was a big thing for me, performing in front of people.”
Now, as a veteran artist with an expansive catalog of eclectic rock ’n’ roll songs, an armload of Detroit Music Awards, a new book of poetry and lyrics, and an engaged fan base, Striho embraces the variety and spontaneity of every show.
Scott Dailey & Carolyn Striho: They’ll be performing this weekend at Nor-East’r fest. (Courtesy Photo)
“I want them (fans) to walk away feeling the energy and the communication and connection,” she said. “It’s really hard to put into words when you’re on stage. It’s like a whirlwind. And when you get off and people react so strongly … that you think wow, they understood, they saw it, they loved it. Just being able to communicate and to have that sort of unity and spirit.”
Audiences will get a chance to experience that several times this month: Striho and her husband-guitarist Scott Dailey play the main stage at Mio’s Nor-East’r Music & Art Festival at 5:20 p.m. Saturday (June 14), Ferndale’s Summer Concert Series on June 18, and Detroit’s Cadieux Café with The Orbitsuns on June 29.
Born and raised in Detroit, Striho started playing piano as a child, sang in school and church choirs, and took up guitar as a teenager, when she also formed various bands and began playing area clubs. Her previous bands include The Cubes, Rough Cut and Detroit Energy Asylum.
Always surrounded by music, Striho cites a lengthy potpourri of musical influences – Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, MC5, David Bowie, John Coltrane, The Rolling Stones, Suzi Quatro, Sly Stone, Joan Jett, Bob Marley, Grace Jones, Chopin, Kate Bush and many more.
Consequently, her songs and her live shows are steeped in diversity, from rock to Americana to classical music to pop to blues to jazz.
“INTENSITY AND MELODY CROSSED WITH FIERY EXCITEMENT”
“The music is kind of a blend. With my style, I like to put everything into a set. Having that fierce stage persona, but also being able to do almost a lullaby for the next song I think is really cool,” she said.
“We’re trying to capture the magic of a live show on our next album, the intensity and melody crossed with fiery excitement. There is spontaneity and improvisation in a live show. It has freedom that gives the songs a sound of their own.”
Striho, a high school English teacher in special education, also revels in the written word, something dramatically demonstrated in her first published book of poems and lyrics, “Detroit (Maiden Energy).”
Another Book in the Offing: Striho (Courtesy Photo)
Billboard and Oakland Press music writer Gary Graff describes the collection from Striho as “blending emotion and psyche into a brave and provocative look into herself and the world around her.”
“People have been telling me for a long time to write a book,” she said, noting that she started working on a memoir before deciding to release a collection of poems instead. “I was inspired by people just really pushing me and saying, ‘Carolyn, it’s time to have something out in written form.’ And I was excited by the response. It was good.”
So good, that Striho already is working on a follow-up book that might include some tales from her extensive, event-filled life as a Detroit musician.
And as for all of Striho’s writing, future recordings and live performances: “Expect passion and heart, love and truth.”
For this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase — airing at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays — Striho showcased her most recent singles, “14 Miles of Bad Road” and “Blue Ridiculous Love.”
The radio show also featured the latest regional music from Resurrection Blues Band, Ada LeAnn, The Messenger Birds, Quinlan Mauer, May Erlewine, Quick Trio, Y-Not and Silent Spirit. Listen to the full interview and radio podcast below.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (6/13/25)
VIDEO: Carolyn Striho & Scott Dailey, “14 Miles of Bad Road”
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