New Orleans "Witch Doom" trio, High Black River, formed in Fall 2022. The band embarked upon a musical exploration heavily influenced by Western esotericism, pulling inspiration from a wealth of archetypal stories covering the spectrum of shared human experience. 2024 saw their first two singles “Cosmic Child” and “Le Bateleur” released and the band debuted live at the 15th annual New Orleans Creepy Fest. And in 2025 came the latest three singles “Persephone,” “Demeter,” and “Echoes of Aurelius.” HBR is currently in the studio working on the last 2 songs for their upcoming full length album slated for end of 2026.
The name High Black River came from the band wanting to capture the ever changing symbolism of a river. A river is never the same twice. It shifts, rises, recedes, and reshapes the land around it. At times it’s calm and reflective, and at others it’s dark, swollen, and unpredictable.
The name also carries a sense of mystery. A black river suggests depths you can’t quite see, the unseen currents moving beneath the surface. There’s a quiet power in that imagery, something both ominous and beautiful, like standing at the edge of deep water and knowing there’s more happening below than you can ever fully understand.
We are a trio of women, each from a different decade of life, and in many ways the name reflects that. Like a river, we are constantly evolvin, carrying our pasts with us, shaping and reshaping who we are as we move forward. Our music comes from those deeper currents: experience, transformation, grief, power, and the strange beauty that comes from surviving life and continuing to flow.
There’s also something elemental in the name that felt right to us. Rivers have long been symbols of crossing points, transformation, and the unknown, where stories begin, end, and change form. High Black River felt like a place that exists both in the physical world and somewhere deeper, where shadow, memory, and movement all meet.
In that way, the name feels less like something we chose and more like something we stepped int. A current we’re now part of and that we allow to lead us, we are merely a conduit for it’s message.
High Black River is:
Espie (Andrea Crabb) - Guitar and backing vocals
Ana De Ferreira - Drums and backing vocals
Michelle Hanks - Bass, lead vocals, lyrics and all artwork
Recording, mixing and mastering by the wonderful Adam Hains of Hains Productions.
Photo by Camilla Calnan Photography
