Dive into the captivating journey of The Crane Wives, a band that began in a small Michigan college town and has since become a force to be reckoned with in the music world. What started as a chance meeting between waitressing shifts at a Chinese buffet has evolved into a dynamic collaboration that blends raw emotion with musical experimentation. From exploring the complexities of adoption trauma in their single "Scars" to addressing imposter syndrome in "Bitter Medicine," The Crane Wives are unafraid to tackle deep, personal themes in their music. Discover the powerful melodies behind their latest work and learn how they are using their platform to inspire change. Read on to learn more about The Crane Wives.

Where are you all based?
We’re based out of Grand Rapids, MI! We’re all originally from other parts of Michigan, but we wound up in West Michigan during college and quickly found a sense of home in the community, so we all ended up staying in the area after we graduated. -Emilee

What brought you all together and motivated you all to form a band?
We were classmates with each other at different times throughout our college careers, but we didn’t become friends and bandmates until after we graduated. Looking for work at the peak of the recession in the early aughts, I wound up waitressing at a Chinese buffet. Kate eventually ended up waitressing at the same restaurant, and we bonded over the experience. We were able to convince our manager to let us play music in the restaurant on Friday nights as an acoustic duo. We weren’t exactly well received (one coworker told me after one of our sets “When you play, it’s annoying”) but we found that our musical chemistry was magic. Writing and singing together felt like second nature. We quit that job together and decided to pursue music instead. Dan and Kate were playing in a blues band together at the time, and so we decided to combine forces under the umbrella of The Crane Wives, but it wasn’t until we found Ben— who was in a sound engineering club with Dan at GVSU— that we really became a band. -Emilee

We grew the band out of genuine enthusiasm for making something that we all loved. We also quickly became such huge fans of each other. I feel really lucky for that sense of authenticity, passion and collaboration that still drives us. - Dan

Where does the name The Crane Wives come from?
The name was inspired by both the Japanese folktale of The Crane Wife as well as the Decemberists album of the same name. We loved the themes of sacrifice, greed, and doomed love. - Emilee

I’ve always loved that our name invokes folklore, because it mirrors one of the most important aspects of the way we write music. We try to transform real-life experiences into myths through metaphor and imagery. I love the way that sense of magical realism helps music be a conduit for feeling. - Dan

What are some of the key influences that inspire your music?
We’re all over the place in our musical tastes. I grew up listening to pop punk and ska, which eventually turned towards more introspective songwriters. I’ve been especially inspired by Anaïs Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Mitski, Florence + the Machine, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and Emily Haines from Metric. -Emilee

Your music has evolved significantly since you first formed in 2010. Can you share some insights on how the band has grown and changed over the years?
When we started making music, we sounded much more acoustic and organic. I think that rawness has always stayed at the root of our sound. The change has come with being more experimental and adventurous, and plugging in to get some electric tones. I’m really excited about how this new record features Emilee and Kate’s electric guitar playing. We love to intentionally craft and mix our tones to make things feel more expansive and lush than the old days. - Dan

Your latest single, “Scars” is beautiful. Can you tell us the story behind it?
Scars comes from a very personal place— I was adopted as a child, and now as an adult I’m working on trying to understand and accept all of the complexities that come with that experience. Trauma is unavoidable in the adoption process, but not something commonly talked about in conversations about adoption, and it’s taken me a long time to realize that adoption trauma has been with me my whole life, shaping me and my relationships. I wrote Scars as a way to explore acknowledging that trauma, exposing it to the air to start the healing process. -Emilee

You also recently released "Bitter Medicine," which is described as an ode to imposter syndrome. What inspired you all to write this song, and what message do you hope it conveys to your listeners?
Bitter Medicine is all about pulling back the polished parts of yourself to show the cracks. A lot of our fans are teens, and it feels like such a huge responsibility to be loved by them. I want to be the best version of myself for them, but sometimes it feels like a performance to cover up the unpalatable parts of myself. I hope that listeners can empathize with the sense of self-doubt, and the desire to come clean about your flaws to be seen as you truly are— imperfect. -Emilee

The upcoming album, Beyond Beyond Beyond, seems to explore themes of fear, joy, and vulnerability. Can you talk about the creative process behind this album and how it differs from your previous works?
We were pretty young when we released our previous albums, and we’ve had a lot of life experiences that have forced us to focus on healing past wounds. I believe that it comes through on the album. I’d say this album is a bit more emotionally nuanced, and dare I say a bit more mature.

One really fun thing about the album that is different from all the others is that the instrumentation on most of the songs was live tracked, so we were able to capture our “live energy” on the album. It was entirely engineered by Ben and we co-produced the album as a band. - Kate

How have your own experiences influenced the themes and messages in Beyond Beyond Beyond?
We have always used songwriting to make sense of our lives, and we have experienced a lot of life, both good and bad, in the eight years since we last released a studio album. The sentiment of wondering what’s out there, “beyond, beyond, beyond” is from the song Arcturus Beaming and comes from the idea of cultivating a radical hope that we collectively have the power to improve society, and that action starts with the belief that things can change. A lot of us have been feeling pretty jaded and stuck since the 2016 election and the 2020 (ongoing) pandemic. I used to stew in doubt and angst, doom-scrolling and letting my nervous system get hijacked by whatever awful thing was being reported every day. But thankfully, contemporary thought-leaders like adrienne maree brown and Robin Wall Kimmerer have inspired me to re-wire my outlook, to move from despair to an indignant reclamation of hope. To take whatever privilege and power I have in my life and maximize the positive effect I can have on others, starting with healing the generational trauma within myself and expanding outward. I know that my bandmates have been on similar healing journeys. It’s hard to know how to improve the world, but I know it starts with hope, and I had to do a lot of inner work to cultivate that ability. - Kate

Before the tour in 2024, one of you worked at a women's health clinic in Grand Rapids that provides abortion services. Can you tell us more about your role and what drew you to this important work?
For the safety of my bandmates and our audiences, I don’t want to dig too deeply into my work at the clinic. I do want to say I became involved in the work because I feel passionate about bodily autonomy and women’s right to choose. As an adoptee, reproductive rights is an issue that hits very close to home. It’s really important to me that the right to choose remains legal and accessible to all. -Emilee

We hear that you are partnering with Headcount. Can you tell us more about this partnership and what motivated you all to get involved?
We have a lot of younger fans who are finally able to vote, and we wanted to find a way to encourage them to be politically active. A lot of our fans are femme or queer, and there are a lot of powers at work trying to further disenfranchise them. We know voting isn’t the end-all-be-all, but it is a part of long term political strategy, and we figured that when someone is trying to take away your right to vote in the first place, it’s probably important to exercise that right. And particularly on a local level where a vote goes a lot further. - Kate

Why is voter registration and participation an important cause for the band, and how does it align with your values and mission?
The past few years have really expanded our touring range — the past few tours have taken us to cities and states we’ve never played before. As a queer Asian woman, some of those places don’t feel as safe as others. It felt important to try and empower the young folk living in those areas, and make sure that they are given the opportunity to shape a different future for themselves and their community. Registering to vote and making sure their voices are heard is a big part of that. -Emilee

How are you feeling about the upcoming election?
Surprisingly hopeful despite the horrors. We’re entering an era where young voters have so much power — and they’re so much more informed and engaged than I was at their age. They know they deserve better and I think they’re equipped to fight for that better future. -Emilee

You are currently on a summer tour and have just announced a fall tour as well. What can fans expect from your live performances during this tour?
Lots of energy, new songs, and old favorites. We’ve been slowly sharing more of our new record with the fans through live performances, and it’s been really exciting to feel the energy ramp up for the new songs. Expect to sing your heart out and howl at the moon. - Emilee

What are some of the biggest challenges you all have faced as a band, and how have you overcome them?
To be honest, I think one of the biggest challenges we’ve ever faced is simply trying to find a sustainable balance between the grind of the industry and making time to live a life that nurtures creativity. Beyond trying to make ends meet financially, there’s an expectation of musicians (particularly young musicians) that you must utilize every opportunity that comes your way on the slim chance that it moves the needle on your career. In taking every opportunity, you sacrifice your time at home, your relationships with your loved ones, your time to just sit and write — all to keep the performance machine running.

Obviously it is a privilege to be able to afford to tour less. However, we do believe it’s important that artists prioritize their mental, emotional, and physical health. Without setting boundaries with our performance schedule, without being comfortable saying “no” to some opportunities, I don’t think we’d have made it this far. I am certain I would have burned myself out years ago trying to do it all without taking care of myself. Overcoming the societal pressure to work yourself to death I think has been one of the biggest hurdles we’ve tried to overcome. -Emilee

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and bands trying to make their mark in the industry?
Make the music you want to make. This industry can be unfair and unforgiving. Success doesn’t always equal the hard work you put in. So make what you want to make. Play the kind of songs that speak to you, not what you think your audience wants. -Emilee

Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you are particularly excited about that you can share with us?
We invited two amazing artists, violinist Samantha Cooper and cellist Jordan Hamilton to lend string parts to five of the songs on the new album. I’m excited that they will be joining us live on stage at our release show in September.

It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
I think rather than trying to stay positive, we’ve tried to make space for the non-positive feelings— the fear and the anger and the frustration. We’ve all run the gauntlet in the past eight years, and allowing those non-positive feelings to be heard has made them a lot easier to accept and move forward from. Personally, a lot of those feelings have activated me, pushing me to be more present in my community, to set healthy boundaries, to invest in art that speaks to me. Pouring my energy back into myself and my community has helped to make the scary, infuriating events of the past few years more bearable, and has helped to carve out a space for hope to grow. -Emilee

What is your motto in life?
Collaboration, not competition.- Emilee

To learn more about The Crane Wives, please follow the links below:
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The Crane Wives - Crafting Myths Through Melody