Helen Mead

Growing up in Stockton, Ca. I remember running barefoot to piano lessons when I was 7. My family relocated to the Bay Area, and at 14 I helped form my first all-girl band, "the Sonnelles" which was a hit at school dances and county fairs.

My interest in guitar took root while an art student and political activist in the late 60's. After a year traveling around Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, I landed in Williamsburg, Va. It was there that I studied voice and guitar while working as an 18th century troubadour.
Judged by Hampton Jazz Institute Faculty members, I won first prize in the 1975 Strawberry Banks Coleen Day Talent Contest in Hampton, Va. and opened for Doc and Merle Watson at the Williamsburg Folk Festival.

I spent 6 months living in London and performed at pubs and wine bars in Chelsea. After a few years in Philadelphia and Denver, I returned to California.
There, I performed solo, with Blues and Jazz bands including "the Heartbeats" and as a duo or trio with various artists in Sonoma and Napa counties.
As a source of steady income and stability I became a Psych Nurse and worked part time for 20 years.The experience was invaluable, challenging and a source of personal growth. I used music as therapy to help patients express their feelings in songwriting, rap and and round robin jam sessions.

Currently employed by the local school disctrict and college, I perform concerts, lead jam sessions and sing-alongs in the older adult population of the Napa Valley.
Also in Napa, I perform every weekend at Piccolino's Italian Cafe, solo with my guitar, singing everything from the Great American Songbook to Beatles, Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday and my originals.