Life & Work with Flynn Faye of From Santa Cruz, California

Today we’d like to introduce you to Flynn Faye.

Hi Flynn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Flynn Faye, and I am a trans folk singer songwriter from Santa Cruz California. I grew up playing among the redwood trees and walking the bluffs of West Cliff, all while developing a love for performing in my local theater communities and listening to my father play Beatles songs on the guitar. So naturally, I like to describe my style as folk rock, a marriage between the folk music of the West Coast and theatrical storytelling. I left home as a teenager and moved out to the East Coast, where I started my professional career as an artist, bouncing back-and-forth between Philadelphia and New York. It was here I was lucky enough to find an artistic community and meet my music producer James Rubino with Lorien Sound, who has helped me jumpstart my solo career and find my voice and sound.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think one of the biggest challenges of this industry as a queer artist is learning to stay authentic to your sound, and not creating art that you think other people want, but rather the art that you want to make. Identity and a sense of home are concepts that have always been elusive to me, that I think have contributed to my biggest struggles as a person and artist. I finally came out in 2023 as transmasc after years and years of wrestling with my gender expression, and while it’s been so freeing to live authentically, it can come with a lot of weight as well. I think staying true to yourself in a world where trans people aren’t always accepted can be extremely difficult, but it makes us all the more stronger. And making art about those experiences can only elevate our existence!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself a folk rock singer-songwriter with an exploration of gender and sexuality at the forefront of my work as a means to create a more liberated sense of self in my audiences. In 2023, I was lucky enough to be a top 10 finalist for Taylor Louderman‘s “Write Out Loud” National Songwriting Contest on a song I co-wrote with Adam Gloc & Jenavive Banes, and in 2024 I released my debut solo EP, “A Hundred Little Things.” My early songwriting work used to just be for theater; my former passion project, “Catching Fireflies: A New Queer Musical,” premiered at the Off-Broadway Players Theater in January 2025 & the 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. I also stream “Rat Chat” on Twitch & Tiktok a couple times a week, a virtual safe hangout space for LGBTQ+ folks & beyond. I’m probably most proud of my second solo EP, “Scorpio in Mars,” coming out in June of this year. This piece captures more of my rock sound, and offers a vulnerability that I don’t think I’ve quite shared yet in my previous releases. It captures all of the classic heartbreak and queer discovery you’d expect, but with a bit of the artist’s addiction to career & success with the daunting desire to never be forgotten. Storytelling is at the heart of what I do, and sharing stories is ultimately what creates community within the complexities that come with being human.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I owe a lot of my career to my mentor and music producer James Rubino; he was the first person who encouraged me to pursue a solo career and continues to help me find my voice in that regard. Collaborating with him on the arrangements of my songs has made me a better artist and songwriter and I feel so grateful to have him as a friend as well. I’d also thank Adam Gloc and Jenavive Banes for their collaboration and friendship over the years as well, in addition to my longterm band members Austin Birdy, Joe Reichel, & Laura Renee Mehl. My childhood best friend Faye, my partner Haley, my family, & my close friends, Wyatt, El, Kaden, Josey, Jordana, Caide, Zee, Beckett, Robin & Chance have also been just a few of the cheerleaders in addition to so many others I’ve been so grateful to have over the years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flynnfaye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flynnfayemusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theflynnfaye
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5E5nbsWbxjtTv2C4fwRFUz?si=DkwE8sd-T4GzcKak2chkwA

Image Credits
Photos by Abigail Haven, Annie Brown, William Dangerfield, Tristen Mogari