Ruby Greenberg

It’s been quite a journey for singer-songwriter Ruby Greenberg, a 2012 Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate-turned-touring-musician-and-recording-artist based in New York.

On April 14, Greenberg debuted “Always,” her first single track, inspired by her hometown roots.

Before Greenberg was living in New York City and traveling across the country performing original songs, she was a local teen who loved music. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, the 24-year-old credits her passion for singing to her early exposure to music.

“My parents were always blasting music,” she said with a laugh. “My family always fueled it.”

Greenberg and her brother often wrote songs together, and her family would get together around the holidays and sing carols with each other.

When Greenberg started high school, she joined every group she could to practice music, from band and choirs to musical theater and the nationally competing CMHS a Capella group, Crimson and Slate. The seven-member all-female group played a big part in Greenberg’s high school career.

“It was a great way to introduce me to performing and traveling through music,” she said. “It was a great experience.”

As a sophomore, Greenberg’s interest in music brought her to Connie Castro, a local vocal instructor specializing in contemporary music.

“(Greenberg) has such a big heart and a great ethic and discipline when it comes to practicing music,” Castro said. “She was always ready to learn something new, ready to try things she hadn’t tried before, and that’s a big piece of talent.”

While Greenberg was involved in many different extracurricular activities during high school, it wasn’t until after a year at Seattle University studying subjects like sociology and international studies that she realized she wanted to purely focus on music studies.

“I thought to be a songwriter it would be best for me to pursue other academics,” she said. “I wasn’t constantly involved in music in Seattle, and that’s when I realized it was something I needed.”

So Greenberg transferred to The New School in New York City, and while her studies there were primarily jazz based, Greenberg also took music-based classes such as composition and music theory, learning from professors still active in the New York jazz scene.

“It was a great learning experience, and I’m lucky that I got to be in a lot of ensembles like trumpets and jazz combos,” she said. “It was different from music I was making before.”

Upon graduating in 2017, Greenberg started focusing on her music career, from writing songs to performing across the country. She played in clubs in Montana and Maine and regularly sings in New York and in Colorado when she’s home. She even sings with Castro at her church over the holidays.

“Performing has always energized me and made me feel connected to people,” she said. “I love playing with my band members who understand and appreciate my music.”

Greenberg credits her jazz background from The New School for influencing her music, what she calls a “fusion” — singer-songwriter featuring folk and Americana with a splash of jazz.

“When I started writing music, I tried to write from the heart, and that’s the natural direction it took me,” she said.

Greenberg also emphasized how important growing up in Colorado is to her music, as her lyrics are influenced by the nature and mountains she experienced as a child.

“Living in New York, I can think back to the beautiful places I’ve been to in Colorado, and it fuels my writing,” she said.

In her latest release, “Always,” Greenberg sings about people from her adolescence.

“What inspired it was watching the people I grew up with going out in the world and doing amazing,” she said. “Because they were friends from home, I wanted to use a lot of metaphors about nature, mountains and the passing of time.

“I have a lot of mention of the seasons and using that as a metaphor for ‘always’ being there.”

Greenberg plans to release more songs throughout the year. “Always” is available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Pandora and other music platforms. - Taylor Dean, The Cheyenne Edition

US singer-songwriter delivers a beautifully sweeping and soothing piano-led ballad - Chris Bound, Mystic Sons

The bonds wrought in childhood are forever tattooed on your scalp. Times and places and things may sever such early connections, and in adulthood, if you happen to revisit the youth in some unexpected fashion, those sparks may be rekindled and completely upend your perceptions. Plucking petals of her very own, New York City folk singer-songwriter Ruby Greenberg collects shadowy remnants of her past, now set through a present, more mature lens, into a lush kaleidoscope of feeling and thought. With “Always,” an exemplary display for an otherworldly, lilting voice, she navigates adulthood and wrangles a resurgence of innocence. “Through the dark, I feel your power in my heart / We guide each other, I pull you. You push me / As we grow sometimes we fall, sometimes we fly,” she allows her words to flutter like tiny strips of notebook paper scuttling down the sidewalk. There is immense glory and wit about her, and so, she imparts rich wisdom upon the listener, no strings attached.

“Always” is the kick-off for a string of singles this year. - Jason Scott, B-Sides and Badlands