Join vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Isabella Pellegrom ’25 when she shares new music from her upcoming second album, tentatively titled Lavender Bushes. The event—at 7 p.m. Friday, April 18, in Recital Hall at Light Fine Arts—will serve as her Senior Integrated Project concert performance.
Pellegrom released her first album, Nomadic Tendencies, in 2022. She said she decided to produce a second album for her SIP with inspiration from her brother, Jory, who she says is a fabulous guitarist and songwriter himself.
“I have distinct memories of sitting beside him as he played and wrote,” Pellegrom said. “There are three songs on the album—For a Cent, Oil Spills and Lines in Between—that were originally written by him. As he never had a chance to produce them himself, I wanted to take his songs and make them my own, whether that be in the arrangement for the studio version or getting to collaborate with him on finalizing lyrics. The album was then filled up with songs that I wrote throughout my years at Kalamazoo College.”
Pellegrom notes that some of the songs, such as the title track and In My Back Pocket, have been stashed away for an album since her first year at K, meaning they’re more polished. Others—such as Rainbows, So Sweet, Ocean Tides and Better Left Unknown—she fell in love with because they had a certain lyric or feel while going with the healing, introspective nature of the new album.
Pellegrom is a biochemistry and music double major and a member of the Chemistry Club at K. She’s also been a President’s Student Ambassador, representing the College at formal events for community leaders, alumni and donors as an extension of the president’s office. Plus, she has participated in inorganic chemistry research and completed a summer clinical research program at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern.
As a musician, Pellegrom is a member of the Academy Street Winds, the Kalamazoo Jazz Band, the College Singers and the Limelights a cappella group. However, the songs on her SIP album are special, she said, because they are a representation of the creative growth she has experienced over the past four years.
“I wrote them during experiences of joy, sadness, confusion and clarity; all the while discovering more about who I am and who I want to be,” Pellegrom said. “Since writing my last album, I have continued to feel grounded in songwriting and I’ve found inspiration in nature.
“The biggest difference from the last album is that this one feels even more rooted in my personal emotions and events. I want to keep finding my voice through my lyrics and my sound through how I am feeling. This album is an exploration of the beauties found within the world. Even more, to me this album represents healing in its many forms and the ways in which I heal. I find healing through joyous moments with friends, through love felt in relationships, through support during moments of hardship and most of all through music. I hope that these songs are in any way healing for those who listen as well.”
Lavender Bushes Demos
Get a taste of what Pellegrom will perform
at 7 p.m. Friday, April 18:
- Rainbows
- For a Cent
- Oil Spills
- Lines in Between
- So Sweet
- In My Back Pocket
- Better Left Unknown
- Ocean Tides
- Lavender Bushes
