A B O U T

Esther is a Texas native who has been playing around Austin since 2011. Raised in San Antonio, her classically trained guitar playing brother Luke was her first influence. She would sit around and listen as he played Robert Johnson, Santo and Johnny, Buddy Holly, and The Beatles among other bands and was intensely jealous that she couldn’t do the same (we’re just being honest here). At 10 years old the orchestra teacher from the local middle school visited her elementary school to give a strings demonstration and encourage the 5th graders to sign up for the orchestra. Esther enthusiastically requested to play the cello, but with hands that were too small, she had to settle for the violin. She played in orchestras throughout high school and college.

In 2003 she moved to Austin, started playing guitar, and in 2011, formed her first band called The Midwives. Her main influences were girl groups of the 50s and 60s, deep cut R&B, and weird garage band compilations. From 2012 to 2018 she played with JoDee Purkeypile as an auxiliary player in various iterations of his indie pop projects. She would often switch between violin, guitar, keys, percussion and backup vocals in one set. She also spent some time playing guitar with The Guacamole Police until Covid-19 shut the world down in the spring of 2020. Most recently she played violin and recorded an album with the folk punk Americana band Madisons which included an East coast tour in the summer of 2022.

Esther has never subscribed to one genre of music or one kind of band. If she loves the music, she’ll listen and she’ll play. The current favorites include Alex G, Cat Power, Batya Levine, Yo La Tengo, and RAZA Circle. Her debut EP “Don’t Let Me Know” was released in December of 2023. Esther’s current project is a collaboration with different songwriters playing live as Esther & Friends. She is releasing a two song EP and a collection of home demos in the Spring of 2025.