Shining a light

New album focuses on contemporary issues that face Native communities

Special to the Times | By Jason Morgan Edwards

ALBUQUERQUE

Raye Zaragoza, Pima, will launch her new, full-length album, “Fight For You,” in the coming months. She will be a featured artist for this Native Guitars Tour lineup during Gathering of Nations week.

After a one-year hiatus, the young singer says, “I am so excited to be returning to Albuquerque to connect with old friends and meet new ones!”

This is Raye’s first official album. She has previously released a four song EP, “Heroine,” and a self-recorded five-song EP.

The album has garnered national and international attention for one Standing Rock-inspired track, “In The River.”

Pledge Music chose her song as one of the current generation’s most notable protest songs, saying her music “is shining a light on the injustices facing Native American people.”

She said of that song, “I released an acoustic version. I wrote (it) in dedication to Standing Rock and the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. I’m releasing a new version of that song, that’s fully-produced, with a whole band.”

Raye’s songs and strong voice belie her youthful age. Her voice is reminiscent of Norah Jones but her songs evoke jazz/blues legend Billie Holliday.

Her former recordings touched on lost love and matters of the heart but the current album reflects the modern-day challenges facing the Native community.

“I’m writing a lot about preservation and Indigenous rights and human rights and environmental consciousness,” she said.

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