What they say about Holly Tannen

     Holly Tannen cast a shimmering spell...a master at taking a small club and turning it into a magical forest, she sang sweetly, almost eerily, then powerfully, and you could watch the audience respond in kind.

     Between the Worlds was one of three tapes I chose to take on a research trip to Antarctica. It was cool! Her music helped me keep my perspective in an awesome place.

     Invocation is a powerful and evocative recording. [It includes] one of the best recordings of one of the best songs I have ever heard: a truly magical performance of Susan Wolf's "Spirits."

     Thank you for your fascinating lecture on neo-pagan religion in my Medical Anthropology class. The students were engrossed and charmed with the way you integrated personal experiences with erudite scholarship, topped off with beautifully performed songs. The students will remember your lecture for a long time.

     For my post-modern Baroque opera, Il Bobo Sferrato , I needed a piece in which the Yoruba Storm-Goddess would plead to the Love-Goddess on behalf of the protagonist. I provided Holly with a list of information which had to be made clear to the audience. Several days later she sent me a précis, complete with staging and choreography, and a song text which was far beyond my expectations.
     Holly was a captivating presence. She boldly strode onstage, twisting and rippling in the purple robes of Oya, Yoruba Goddess of radical transformation. Her song was alternatively poignant and hilarious, mixing plaintive entreaties with risqué suggestions, evocative descriptions, and wicked witticisms (the audience howled). Her voice and message were so clear that I overheard audience members recalling her jokes and singing the chorus of her song with great hilarity. Holly's was the most memorable aria in the opera.