Boston rock band salutes our lives both on and off the stage with debut album out on digital, vinyl, and CD on Friday, June 19 via Rum Bar Records
Not too long ago, longtime Boston musician, scene veteran, and Girl with a Hawk frontperson Linda S. Viens was driving around Massachusetts with the radio playing at full volume. On came Lucinda Williams’ cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock ‘n’ Roll)”, and she was struck by two things: The humor presented in Williams’ sardonic take on the 1975 classic, and the original’s underlying message about the hardships and craziness bands face in trying to succeed in the crazy game of rock and roll.
A lot has changed in the 51 years since AC/DC dropped that iconic banger, but in a lot of ways, much has stayed the same. Viens, now 69, counts herself lucky to have lived a full and creative life with family, friends, art and music, even if the juggle has been a challenge at times. She quickly penned the lyrics to “Wasn’t It Just Yesterday,” a buoyant classic rock cruiser about both aging in rock and roll and being ageless in rock and roll.
“It was so much fun to write lines that speak to the reality of ‘still doing it’ with all of life’s ‘adult concerns’ at play, and the passion for it for that has been lifelong,” Viens says with a laugh and her infectious smile.
That passion comes out in kaleidoscopic color across Girl with a Hawk’s debut album Regenesis, released on digital, compact disc, and vinyl via Rum Bar Records on Friday, June 19. The record release party goes down the following night at The Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain alongside labelmates and fellow scene stalwarts Stop Calling Me Frank and Tad Overbaugh & The Late Arrivals.
A gold-standard rock and roll collection featuring five recent Girl with a Hawk releases and four new tracks, including new single “Wasn’t It Just Yesterday,” out May 20, Regenesis harnesses the band’s classic rock, power-pop, and Americana sound, bridging the gap between that cool ‘70s rock vibe and the chaos and concern of the modern day.
And Regenesis also captures the Girl with a Hawk ethos; it’s a raised glass to the rock and roll lifers; the ones doing it for the love of music, for the love of those around them, and for the love that took hold of us many years ago and simply never let go.
After forming during the pandemic, Girl with a Hawk have made their mark on the Boston scene in a big way in a relatively short period of time, with Viens (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar) rounded out in the band by Richard Lamphear (keyboards, backing vocals); Daniel Coughlin (guitars, backing vocals); Daniel George Bernfeld (bass, backing vocals); and Nancy Delaney (drums, percussion, backing vocals).
“At least four or five of the songs on the record speak to a life lived being in bands, the bonds forged, and the life of a musician and performer, with themes of loss, addiction, death and redemption woven through,” Viens reveals. “Being a musician, like all performing arts, can be a very physically and emotionally taxing profession and it can take its toll. All the cliches about spending your time in bars, being on the road, being ‘out’ and not at home, are real.”
What’s also real, Viens notes, is “the psychic pressure” of knowing there are countless others out there all vying for the same listeners and attention. And many are significantly younger, deemed more attractive, and sometimes more talented and/or well-connected than those who came before. It’s all part of that cycle.
“To keep going, you have to not only make peace with that fact, but actually rejoice in it,” Viens admits. “For that is the flame that is continuously passed from one artist to another and that is the way of continual rebirth. What keeps us ‘in the game’ is that there is nothing more joyful, silly, fun, and rewarding than hanging out with, and playing live music with, a great rock and roll band!”
The record’s title, Regenesis, echoes the sentiment. Reflecting the process of a new beginning, renewal, or rebirth, it plays into the idea of a cycle played out across stages across the country. Viens, who was inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame last year, began playing around Boston back in the ‘80s, first linking up with Coughlin in Children of Paradise and Witch Doctor and then in the previous decade with Lamphear in Kingdom of Love.
After raising her daughter and being away from the stage, the rock and roll life called her back. And in Girl with a Hawk, the rebirth was complete, all in the traditional cycle of a new band arriving on the scene – though this time with a rich, and deep pedigree.
“Being older by decades than when we first started, putting together a new rock band felt like a bold move,” she adds. “It felt like a complete rebirth, and it felt fated. I suppose the message is ‘we can’t turn back time, and we may no longer be young, but it’s never too late to repair a friendship and/or make amends, never too late to reinvent yourself, or be the person you always wanted to be.’”
She adds: “Sometimes, it can take a lot of healing and inner work to believe that one can start over, that we’re allowed to have a new chapter in life if we want to, and to begin again. Take the time, if you can, to do what you love, or, of course, continue doing what you love.”
The follow-up to 2023 EP keep ‘er lit, Girl with a Hawk’s inaugural long-player flexes the band’s songwriting acumen and ability to convey the various elements of the complex human connection. A series of singles showcases their yearning, folk-fueled rock and roll, from the endearing “Way With Words” (July 2024) to the ebullient “Share It All” (October 2024). Last year delivered a trio of new tunes, starting with a tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins in “No One Like You” (March 2025) and the comforting ballad “It’s The Way” (July 2025).
To close out last year, the band unveiled the bouncy “I’m In Love With My Friends,” an infectious power-pop bop about our chosen family, brought to new glistening heights by a Lamphear’s rippin’ display of Hammond and Farfisa organ. The emotive song finds Viens watching families and loved ones gather together as she walks by herself through the city, only to link up with her own inner circle down at The Plough & Stars in Cambridge.
“‘I’m In Love With My Friends’ is an homage to one’s ‘ride or dies’; our true-blue friends who are there for us when the shit hits the fan, who make us laugh when things look dark, and who inspire us to be our best selves through all of life’s challenges,” she says. “Romantic relationships don’t always survive those challenges, but authentic friendships usually do.”
New songs like folk-fused rocker “The Fighter,” punchy ‘70s rock number “Full Moon,” and heartfelt ballad “Beautiful Today” give Regenesis its sonic breadth without ever not sounding like Girl with a Hawk. It’s a testament to the creative chemistry Viens shares with her bandmates, as well as her music community.
“There’s some variety in the new ones,” Viens reveals. “Pathos and forgiveness in ‘The Fighter’ which is about my dad but also about the ancient legacy of violence in the wider world; finally letting go of someone I loved for a long time in ‘Full Moon’, and the wistfulness of young, unsure love in ‘Beautiful Today’. Richard and I spent a lot of time thinking about the sequence of the songs on the album, and feel happy that the record works as a whole, and reflects our musical journey as a band up to this moment in time.”
Produced and engineered by Pete Weiss and mixed and mastered by Weiss at Jade Cow Music in Somerville, Massachusetts, the songs on Regenesis were recorded at Mad Oak Studio in Boston and Panoramic House Studio in Stinson Beach, California.
And true to the band’s sense of community, guest vocalists include Judith Sprague (Crow Follow), Linnea Herzog (Linnea’s Garden) and Holly Kantor (Galaxy Cake), with violinist Stud Green appearing on “The Fighter.” Carissa Johnson crafted the eye-catching artwork, with additional design by Coughlin and Viens, and the physical release features photographs by Wayne Viens, Nicole Tammaro, and Kelly Davidson.
A half-century ago, AC/DC sang about the tough road in making it to the top. But perhaps a tougher road is just getting by after all, whether a musician or anyone else, busy just navigating all of life’s ups and downs. Yeah, it’s a long road to the top, but it’s also a long road to go just about anywhere, and maybe even the longest road is the one that leads to true happiness. Veins feels blessed to simply make it to the next stop in her lifelong journey.
And right now, there’s no place she and Girl with a Hawk would rather be.
“We take it one day, one song, one show at a time and try to give it all we’ve got every time,” Viens concludes. “We’ve lived long enough to know how precarious and precious each day is, so we take none of it for granted, ever. Extra bonuses are being on a truly wonderful and supportive label, Rum Bar Records, and getting to be a part of an incredibly, absurdly vibrant and rocking local scene and knowing so many great people we are lucky enough to call our friends. It’s a good life!”
That’s a song worth writing about.
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Girl with a Hawk is:
Linda Viens: Vocals, electric and acoustic guitar
Richard Lamphear: Keyboards, backing vocals
Daniel Coughlin: Guitars, backing vocals
Daniel George Bernfeld: Bass, backing vocals
Nancy Delaney: Drums, percussion, backing vocals
‘Regenesis’ production credits:
All songs written by Linda S. Viens and performed by Girl with a Hawk
Produced and engineered by Pete Weiss
Mixed & mastered by Pete Weiss at Jade Cow Music, Somerville MA
Additional production by Richard Lamphear & Linda Viens
Additional overdubs: Pete Weiss, Baritone guitar, percussion
Guest performers: Judith Sprague, Linnea Herzog, and Holly Kantor with additional vocals on “I’m In Love With My Friends”; Stud Green on violin on “The Fighter”
“Way with Words”, “The Fighter”, “Share It All”, “Full Moon”, “Beautiful Today”, “Wasn’t It Just Yesterday” recorded at Mad Oak Studios in Boston, MA
Mia Govoni, assistant engineer on “Way with Words” and “Share It All”
“I’m In Love With My Friends”, “No One Like You”, and “It’s the Way” recorded at Panoramic House Studio in Stinson Beach, CA
Overdubs recorded at Bluetone Studio in Somerville, MA with assistant engineer David Grabowski
Album art design by Carissa Johnson
Additional design by Daniel Coughlin and Linda Viens
Inner right sleeve: Kid photos, band, and performance photos of Richard Lamphear, Linda Viens, Daniel George Bernfeld and Daniel Coughlin by Wayne Viens
Performance photo of Nancy Delaney by Nicole Tammaro
Press photo and album back cover photograph by Kelly Davidson
(c) 2026 Girl with a Hawk. All Rights Reserved
A Rum Bar Records Release / June 2026 rumbarrecords.com
All rights reserved
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Girl with a Hawk band bios:
Linda Viens began playing music with the gift of a classical Mexican guitar from her Dad for her 12th birthday. In college she got into punk rock. She played drums and sang in the punk band, Children of Paradise, went on to lead local roots rockers, Witch Doctor, sang cabaret with collaborator Catherine Coleman in Les Chanteuse Sorcieres, and formed the notorious funk orchestra Crown Electric Company with her former husband Wayne Viens in the mid-nineties. Linda was a founding member of Boston Rock Opera and has performed in many musical theater productions, including Sgt. Pepper, Jesus Christ Superstar, Abbey Road, Preservation, and Billion Dollar Babies vs. Aqualung. Linda has produced and recorded with some of Boston’s finest including Mark Sandman (Morphine), Richie Parsons (Unnatural Axe), Asa Brebner (Modern Lovers), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses), Jon Macey (Fox Pass), Adam Sherman (Private Lightening, Nervous Eaters) and released the album Powdered Pearls with Emily Grogan and their band together, Angeline in 2006. Linda went on to form Kingdom of Love, a studio project with producer and musical partner Richard Lamphear and released their EP Ghosts in 2017. Linda continues to work with Richard in her new band, Girl with a Hawk, formed during the Pandemic in 2021.
Richard Lamphear is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His former bands include alt- punk band Amoebas in Chaos and Kingdom of Love. Daniel Coughlin is a guitar player and arranger. His former bands include Children of Paradise, Witch Doctor, Lazy Susan, and The Illyrians. Nancy Delaney plays drums. Her former bands include Willard Grant Conspiracy, Boston Rock Opera and Cold Expectations. Daniel Bernfeld is a bassist and singer-songwriter.
