Deborah Crooks

Born and raised in a rural area of California, Deborah Crooks grew up surrounded by nature, but close enough to San Francisco to be influenced by the city’s history of social, musical and political upheaval. Her lyric-driven and soul-wise music draws on folk, rock, and Americana. 

Place-based and rooted in practice, her work has evolved over her years studying writing and poetics at The Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado; voice and yoga in Mysore, India, and co-writing and collaborating with her Bay Area peers. She’s released several collections of critically noted original music, including the 2013 release, LITTLE BIRD, (produced by Art Khu and described as "a masterful piece of work"), 2016's 7-song CD, BEAUTY EVERYWHERE, and her latest, the 11-song collection THE DEPARTMENT OF THE WEST (2019). 

Along with her solo musical work, she co-founded the band BAY STATION, and its "Love the Bay" music and sailing video series with Kwame Copeland; founded and edits a neighborhood magazine, THE BAY STATION EAGLE. She collaborates with the DEBORAH SLATER DANCE THEATER, and has penned essays and fiction for publications including NO DEPRESSION, THE SUN, COMMON GROUND, and THE THINKING GIRL'D GUIDE TO ENLIGHTENMENT.