Tess Dunn is a 17-year old singer-songwriter phenom who hails from Santa Cruz, California. Tess’ raspy vocals, mature piano compositions and alternative sound transcend her years. She started playing the piano at age 5, began writing songs at age 11 and first took to the stage at age 12. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), an incurable life-threatening disease which causes progressive lung damage, as well as epilepsy and diabetes, Tess faces issues of mortality that infuse her music and lyrics with radiant richness and haunting depth.
Tess’ first CD, “Darling Just Walk,” released in 2009, was recorded in North Hollywood with a host of internationally recorded musicians, including Ari Shine, Carina Round, Adrienne Pierce and Adam Topol. Dubbed in the media as “the young and the fearless,” one music reviewer wrote that her lyrics “…delve into deeper and darker spaces than the pop stars of her time.” Tess says living with CF is “…almost like having a clock ticking over your head, but it has a way of putting things in perspective.” She “finds a certain beauty in the randomness of life,” and her music explores issues of love, trust and relationships. An affecting advocate for anyone battling the challenges of chronic disease, Tess encourages others due to to her take no prisoners zest for life.
Tess has performed throughout California, including at the Vans Warped Tour at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View in 2011 and 2010, and at the San Francisco Warped Tour in 2009. She has had successful solo shows in Santa Cruz County, and has opened for artists including Karla Bonoff, Nina Storey, Ari Shine, Adrienne Pierce, and Iris DeMent. She contributed a song for an anthology album in Canada, performed for the Santa Cruz TEDx, and participated in a national film and music production, “The Breathe Song Event,” to raise CF awareness. She was recently filmed for the Vans Off The Wall TV "Pass The Bucket" series, which will be released in March 2012.
Tess' second album, "Honesty Box," recorded with Ari Shine and Noah Shain at White Buffalo Studios in Los Angeles, was released in February 2012. The first single from the EP, "Shame To See," was recorded at the legendary EastWest Recording Studios in Hollywood, and the accompanying music video won a S.F. Bay Area contest for Best Local Music Video. 99.7 FM recently named Tess one of the top local artists of 2011 in the SF Bay Area.
To listen to Tess is to be inspired.
From Tess' myspace:
Some interesting facts about me:
I have cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and epilepsy. I'm different.
My favorite color is black. Yes, I consider it a color.
I love chocolate chip cookies. I will love you if you bake them for me :D
I get revenge on ex-boyfriends by writing songs about them. But I don't have the guts to put their names in them- yeah, you guys are lucky.
I still have my moments where I'm not confident- like when I'm around new people. I'm super shy.
Hair dye = <3
I love love!
My middle names are Aurore and Vaeth. I plan to get that changed legally when I'm old enough.
I'm not growing anymore, and have achieved my goal- I didn't make it to five feet :D
I love my friends. They are amazing.
I love my family. They are also amazing.
My favorite holiday is Christmas.
I want to tour around the world and meet my inspirations.
I am terrified of fake blood and real blood- but I poke myself to check blood sugars and inject insulin everyday, which my mother teases me about :]
I want you to be my friend on myspace, facebook, twitter, and youtube- GO GO GO!