Happy New Year! We made it through 2025. Whew!

We had many debuts in 2025 (The Red Rooster, The Rigby, The North Street Cabaret) and had the opportunity to work with some truly wonderful, hardworking musicians. We also had the pleasure of seeing many friendly, supportive faces and meeting some wonderful new people at our gigs! Thank you for being there!

This past year we recorded our first album, New Monsters at Blast House Studios. I've been releasing singles from the album in a “waterfall strategy”. We'll release at least two more singles this year before officially releasing the album. That said, if you're interested in buying our CD, it's available at Frugal Muse Books for $10! Just ask at the register. I'll also have copies for sale at our upcoming Marisa Balistreri Duo gig at Bierock on Friday, January 16th from 8:00-10:00 PM. We hope to see you there!

We are SO excited to be providing the music for the Cave of the Mounds' Valentine's Day event “Love on the Rocks”. I love the Cave of the Mounds and can't wait to sing in those acoustics! Tickets are available here. We're also very honored to be invited back to sing for the residents of Oakwood East on February 6th as part of their Opening Ceremony festivities for the Olympics. We'll be adding even more Italian tunes to our repertoire!

On December 19th we released our third single, “Threads (þættir)”. It's about how stories are passed down through families like heirlooms. Inspired by the knitting skills of his mother and Icelandic sagas, Stefan's lyrics remind us that we are all interconnected. You can listen to it here. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to promote it properly so it hasn't done as well as our first two singles.

Five years ago, Stefan and I moved back to the Madison area after a very long absence to be closer to our aging parents. My folks are starting to require more of my attention, and helping them is my priority. So if sometimes we don't have a lot of gigs booked or I haven't followed up on promotion it is because I choose to put my folks first. I truly wish I had the time and energy for two simultaneous lives! If only!

I wish you all a very happy, peaceful and prosperous 2026!

Thank you so much for your support! We can't do any of this without YOU.

Mission Statement: We play jazz with world music influences that makes people feel hopeful for humanity

marisabalistreri.com   youtube.com/@marisabalistreri   facebook.com/marisa.balistreri.music www.instagram.com/marisabalistreri   bsky.app/profile/marisabalistreri.bsky.social