Cyrena Wages is something of a phenomenon, a force, in Memphis. She spent years living opposite the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was assassinated. It's now a civil rights museum. Her father was a local judge, dedicating his working life to defending the underdog. Robin Hood, a British mythical figure, looms large in her life.
Dad is a trial attorney and was the judge of our hometown for many years. He’s always fought for the little guy – the underdog – professionally and personally. We’d drive through the country on the way to school in the Caddy, in good times and bad, listening to Stevie Wonder and Ann Peebles.
Cyrena Wages
You quickly come to understand that kindness and a sense of fairness are important to CW. After family, it's possible they matter even more than music. The way she makes her music, the team she builds around her to reach her dreams, stands out.
In recent weeks Cyrena has been gently nudging me towards the music of some of her friends. In the natural flow of conversation they have occasionally dropped some quotes and clues to their version of Cyrena Wages, someone they know far better than I do.
Everyone has been quick to praise the Winehouse of Memphis, the dark vixen of the moonless alleyway, the tiger with the voice of an angel, or possibly the angel with the roar of a tiger, the princess with the voice of Agent Cooper's blackest coffee... [Oh boy! You've totally lost it this time. Ed.]
And so below I have collected one or two of the more memorable comments. I have a feeling Cyrena will appreciate these notes, although she already knows how highly we all think of her.
To quote Bob Dylan, she contains multitudes. I think is that she is one of the most caring, giving people I know. She is just as much worried about taking up your time or making sure you're okay even though we're cutting her super emotional song. You know she's very like a mama bear! I'm just so excited for people to hear Cyrena Wages now and hear this fully developed artist.
Matt Ross-Spang
Matt produced and engineered CW's debut solo album, Vanity Project. The guitarist, writer and music director Joe Restivo was also a key part of that crew.
She was going through a somewhat similar thing that I had gone through which was leaving the area and coming back. And that's sort of a story unto itself and so re-integrating your life and that sort of flux, but especially getting back home. I think the record [Vanity Project] is a lot of that.
Joe Restivo
It was Cyrena who introduced me to the sort of female Roger Waters, or David Gilmour, or both together that is Madaline Collins, a solo artist and member of the band Screamer.
What a pillar in the Memphis music scene!! Cyrena is a force to be reckoned with for sure, if you haven’t met her in person she is just as powerful as her artist persona leads her on to be. Some folks are just born to do this. She is a lovely soul and very warm to be around.
Madaline Collins
Another absolute screamer is the wonderfully talented Raneem Imam. Just don't stand in front of her car. Especially if she's at the wheel.
I love Cyrena’s music! When I heard “Back to the City” for the first time live, long before its release, it instantly became my favorite song of hers. I love that we as listeners are moving through seasons of life with her. Her music truly tells the story of her journey, the lessons hard learned, the moments that shaped her into the woman she is today. And by telling her story, she wants others to feel seen in their struggles too. She’s always given me so much support and encouragement on my journey.
Raneem Imam
I love Back to the City too, and there are various live versions. The line about someone being "made of all the colors of the rainbow" is powerful, as is the idea of being older than her time. The multicolored personality is an image that recurs on Vanity Project. This version stood out for me and features collaborator Jeremy Stanfill.
Someone who has photographed Cyrena many times, in all kinds of moods, personas, roles and outfits, is the photography queen herself, the goddess of the camera, Sammy Hearn.
Cyrena Wages is an artist that you can't look away from. It's her voice, her lyrics, her style - everything about her is captivating and soulful. With a powerhouse voice and a vintage aesthetic, Cyrena's music always steals the show in my playlists. I can't get enough of the "Carried Away (It's Not That Deep)" disco remix, but the original version is also such a pleaser. I can't wait to see this girl BLOW UP. She deserves it.
Sammy Hearn
I have to admit to a soft spot for that Carried Away remix and it's partly due to CW's obvious hair-down enjoyment, messing around at home, in the short reel. In Vanity Project the listener can sometimes feel the weight of the world on Cyrena's shoulders and this remix shows us how fun and funny she can be.
I'm thrilled we get to see more of this funny, lighter Cyrena in the 2025 material. We all love Vanity Project, not least CW herself, but I think the 2025 Cyrena is closer to the person within. She's not really as dark as Vanity Project, she just had some dark things to offload before becoming the swan. The Carried Away session below also captures her warm personality.
I love the full Carried Away video, which works as a short film on its own at nearly six minutes. It adds meaning, or a new interpretation, to the song. Yes, they are cooking actual records.
I recently posted a still from the video in an Instagram story which caught the eye of Ellie Norris, who appears in the video itself.
When I saw this story I told Cyrena we’re overdue for shooting another video! Can’t wait for the rest of her new album to drop 🙌🏻 It’s all so good!! Such a talent, can't wait to watch her pop off ✨
Ellie Nichols Norris
We haven't heard enough from Cyrena herself yet. She doesn't know I'm doing this so I am sharing a quote that links Vanity Project to the new 2025 material.
I didn’t go in to make this new record feeling unheard. I didn’t have pent up weight, or unarticulated pain. I feel like I wrote Vanity Project from a wound, and I am writing this project from a scar. If Vanity Project was despair, healing, and truth telling, this one is swagger, boundaries, levity, fun, and a sense of humor that I lost touch with for a long time. And then, of course, a little darkness, too. But it all just has more of a wink and a backbeat to it this time. I will always live in the deep end. But I’m not drowning right now.
Cyrena Wages
Oh! She said "right now." Why are artists never happy for long? We must get something out of pain. It's quite obvious: there's no drama in peaceful happiness. The story, the material, comes from conflict, from hardship. Luckily it's possible to imagine scenarios and write about things that haven't happened. Or to create new, alternative stories from events that have.
You can catch up with Cyrena's latest on Instagram. Her TikTok is brilliant and she has her own website. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this piece. You will notice that all their names link through to their own websites: every single one of them is unbelievably creative and talented and they're all going to blow up. There's just something in the water, the same water that Elvis once drank.
