Hannah Judson: Indie Folk Rock

Hannah Judson’s songs unleash indie folk-rock stories steeped in lyrical grit and fearless beauty—Midwestern electric guitar wrapped in Parisian café culture. Elegant and bold, she fuses Americana, folk-rock, and touches of jazz to craft narratives that blur the line between real and surreal, distilling universal truths into crystalline moments.

An American/French singer-songwriter, Hannah tours internationally and performs lyrically potent indie folk-rock songs using electric guitar, live looping, and percussive vocals. Her intimate, modern folk sound has been compared to Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams, and Natalie Merchant. Noted as “the real deal” by the UK’s Maverick Magazine and “with a style that channels Elliott Smith” by Indie Country FM radio, she has appeared regularly in Paris, across Europe, and in the US.

Hannah has worked with notable artists including The Kennedys, Lola Lennox, Freda Love Smith, Miss Baby Sol, Rachael Sage, Gaelle Buswel, Suzahn Fiering, and Cindy Shapiro. She’s performed at the Folk Alliance International Showcase, Los Angeles Fashion Festival, Folk You Paris, and MUSEfest in Philadelphia, London, and Paris. She has contributed to indie films like The Bench (Ivy Bona) and Sophia’s Violin (David Smith), and scored the experimental performance Pièces Rares du Cabinet de Curiosité du Docteur Loyali Les Enfants de Tim B (Guérin and Bursztynowicz). She also performed as part of Lacuna Echo, an experimental multimedia project.

Satellites Grace the Sky Like Tumbleweeds (Boneyard Records), released April 25, 2025, was recorded by renowned producer Carlos Canzani at Studio de la Source in Île-de-France. The album explores the effects of social distance and the collective reckoning of recent years, offering songs that reflect the tension and tenderness of arriving at “where we are right now.”

A risky, engaging songwriter, Hannah constructs ethereal environments where danger and love combat in free fall. Her narrative songwriting—rooted in the tradition of Leonard Cohen and Joan Baez and laced with nods to Liz Phair, Jill Sobule, and Neutral Milk Hotel—is known for its delicate, breathy textures and percussive elements. Her performances are warm, funny, quirky, and deeply welcoming.

Originally from coastal Maine, Hannah was a fixture in Chicago’s Wicker Park alt/folk scene during the grunge era. She formed her first band, Salt Lick, while studying painting and sound at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was an active member of the city’s folk, grunge, and alt/rock circuits, and has always been active in supporting women in the arts. She produced GrrrlsRock events at Beat Kitchen in the 90s, and created The Hannah Judson Beat, a podcast spotlighting women in music. In 2014, she founded MUSEfest, an international platform celebrating women in music, film, and art. She later became Director of Music for the LA Fashion Film Festival (LAFFF) and earned an MBA in music business from Berklee College of Music/SNHU. She signed with Boneyard Records in 2018.

In France her band is Charlie Galunic (lead guitar) and Brian Clevinger (bass, Absynth creator), and in Chicago with Jeff Phillips (bass) and Leslie Santos (drums). After 18 years in the Paris region, she is now based in Chicago.