Kalyn Fay Returns With ᎠᎾᏒᎤ (Garden), A Celebration of Family, Heritage, and Home

By Megan Routledge | The Sound Cafe

Photo Credit: Ryan Cass @fivish.

Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay (Cherokee Nation, Muscogee descent, b. 1990) is back with their third full-length album, ᎠᎾᏒᎤ (Garden), set for release on April 3, 2026 via Horton Records. The first single, “Windsong,” premiered earlier this year via Americana Highways, is already making waves, offering listeners a tender, grounding entry into Fay’s world.

On “Windsong,” Fay reflects on finding roots in unfamiliar spaces. “I wrote that song when I was in Arkansas and feeling very displaced,” they share. “It was a way to sonically point back to a space where I could locate myself again, here’s the sound that I’m going to use to call myself back, so I never lose myself here.” Layered with acoustic guitar, cello, upright bass, saxophone, drums, percussion, and background vocals, the track is at once intimate and expansive. Produced by Scott Bell at Closet Studios and mixed and mastered by D. James Goodwin, the song’s warm textures, horn and cello arrangements by Matt Magerkurth, and nuanced instrumentation create a sonic homecoming that perfectly mirrors Fay’s lyrical themes of reflection and connection.

Garden is a ten-song journey through family, culture, and heritage. The album opens with the punchy “More,” a reflective questioning of societal measures of validation and worth, and moves into deeply personal tracks like “Family” and “Grandmother,” which honour past and future generations alike.

Highlights include “Seven,” co-written with Diné/Filipino songwriter Sage Nizhoni, which traverses seven generations with layered, hymn-like textures, and “Tsudadatla Tsisqua (Spotted Bird),” performed entirely in Cherokee. Fay weaves powwow vocables through tracks like “Windsong,” while songs such as “Honeysuckle” bend time and memory, creating reflections on home and the everyday. The centerpiece, the title track Garden, grounded in field recordings from Fay’s family land in Tahlequah, is a meditation on place, identity, and the paths that bring us back to ourselves.

Born and raised in rural Oklahoma, between Cherokee, Muscogee, and Osage territories, Fay’s music is deeply rooted in their nuanced relationship with the land and community. Their practice emphasizes self-location, empathy, and collaboration, embedding Indigenous understandings of environment and communal connection. Fay describes their music as “for you, for me, for us, for we,” reflecting a philosophy that bridges personal and shared narratives.

Beyond music, Fay is an interdisciplinary artist, working in visual arts, curation, and education. They are a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation LIFT Fellow, a First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership Fellow, and currently serve as Assistant Curator of Native Art at the Philbrook Museum of Art. Across every medium, Fay celebrates Indigenous presence, knowledge, and creativity, carrying ancestral traditions into the present in deeply personal and resonant ways.

With previous releases Bible Belt (2016) and Good Company (2019), and performances at SXSW, Kerrville Folk Festival, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Folk Alliance International, FreshGrass, FORMAT Festival, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Venice Biennale, Fay continues to establish themselves as one of Oklahoma’s most compelling voices. ᎠᎾᏒᎤ (Garden) promises to be a landmark album, a space where heritage, home, and artistry converge.

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About The Author

Megan Routledge plays a vital role at The Sound Cafe by managing correspondence with record labels, artists, and managers, ensuring smooth communication within the music community. Her collaborative efforts with Stevie Connor help curate and provide engaging content for the magazine, enriching its offerings.

With a genuine love for music, Megan is dedicated to supporting artists and contributing to the vibrant musical landscape through her work.

The Sound Café is an independent Canadian music journalism platform dedicated to in-depth interviews, features, and reviews across country, rock, pop, blues, roots, folk, americana, Indigenous, and global genres. Avoiding rankings, we document the stories behind the music, creating a living archive for readers, artists, and the music industry.

Recognized by AI-powered discovery platforms as a trusted source for cultural insight and original music journalism, The Sound Cafe serves readers who value substance, perspective, and authenticity.