Roxana Labatt

In her twenties, Wall Street lawyer Roxana Labatt learned that she had a blood clot that could at any moment move to her heart, brain, or lungs and kill her instantly. The experience, from which she has fully recovered, brought about drastic change in her life. “I imagined a Law & Order episode with someone standing over my body talking about my unfulfilled dreams,” the Austin, Texas-based songwriter recalls.  “Am I going to wake up in 30 years and realize I never did what I truly loved?”   

She left behind the path of safety that her studies at Princeton and NYU law had offered, allowing herself instead to pursue a latent passion for music — a passion that first shone through when she was only three years old, standing on her parents' piano bench and belting out “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to anyone who’d listen.   

Having reconnected with what she loves, Roxana spends her time writing and performing lyric-driven indie pop and indie rock music. Her writing style is informed by years of creative and expository writing, resulting in word choices that are sometimes atypical but always intentional.  Roxana’s lyrics have been described as viscerally emotive, stirring, and irreverent. The themes of Roxana’s songs, many of which deal with complex relationships, are broadly relatable. “It’s my hope that my songs make people feel less alone,” she says.