Sunshine Ghost: Singer-Songwriter Alecia Haselton Releases New Single
By Julie Horner
Corralitos singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alecia Haselton is back home and dipping into a well of emotions with her latest single, Sunshine Ghost. Available on your favorite streaming platforms, Alecia said, “Sunshine Ghost is an alt rock song co-written with my late boyfriend and bandmate Nathan Rael Candelaria in Nashville.” She and Rael had been working on the song together when he unexpectedly passed away on October 23, 2022 while she was out of town. She released the song on October 23 of this year in his memory. Alecia wrote and played synth on the song, Rael played guitar and recorded the male vocals. “I love the guitar parts,” she said. “I think the song is about the light, brightness, and happiness someone emits and how we miss it when they’re out of town. It can become temporarily dark. We miss their sunshine.” During the final mix, she added her own lyrics to the song, visiting the pain of missing his sunshine forever. Friend Don Budd at Tone Freq Studios in San Jose helped her mix the song and it was mastered by Steven Glaze. General Manager of School of Rock San Jose, Chris Pounders, added bass to the track; the drums were recorded by Rael’s friend Matthew Tobias in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Alecia studied music at Cabrillo College. She also enrolled in the School of Rock (schoolofrock.com) performance-based music education program. Her first ever show on stage was singing Led Zeppelin songs with a full band in Palo Alto. From there she formed an original alt rock project, The Valerias, based in Watsonville, and she was part of a pop punk band in the East Bay called Get Out. Self-taught on guitar, piano, ukulele, and autoharp, Alecia completed her studies at Cabrillo and graduated with an associate’s degree in music in 2017. She headed out solo to perform in the Bay Area and followed a dream to move to Hawai’i where she lived off-grid, playing music professionally and working on horseback as a ranch as a Trail Ride Guide. Alecia just returned home from Nashville where she spent four years fine tuning her performance skills playing the famed honkytonks lining Lower Broadway.
Alecia Haselton 3-song EP “Rebirth” album art photographed on the Big Island featuring the Ōhi’a tree with its red lehua blossoms.
Alecia has six singles out and an EP. Each has its own cadence. The 3-song EP called Rebirth was released in 2021 while she was still living on the Big Island. “I put this EP together after a breakup and move to the other side of the island. I felt like I was starting over in a lot of ways. The Ōhiʻa tree with red lehua blossoms on the album artwork is one of the first plants to grow out of a lava flow, the ultimate geological refresh. The mountain in the background is the volcano Maunakea, which reaches almost 14,000 ft above sea level. It was a pretty intense photoshoot. The sharp a’a’ lava on my bare feet was humbling and the weather is actually quite cold up there. It will always be one of my favorite photo shoots.”
Haulin’ 2 Horses is an a cappella song (“a la Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz,” she said) that came to her as she was driving a truck and trailer evacuating horses out of the CZU fires in 2020. “It was featured right before Bonnie Raitt’s piece in the Love You Madly livestream/fundraiser Event Santa Cruz put on after the fires. I wanted my video submission to be different, so I borrowed my friend Gale’s horse Ariel in Felton and rode to the river in Henry Cowell. The song describes evacuating the horses, which totally took my mind off a recent breakup and gave me a sense of purpose.”
In 2022, she released Talk, Bleeding Love, and Good Dogs. “Talk is my most popular song, which is funny because it was one of those songs that just came to me all at once. I didn’t have to spend much time writing it or working out the arrangement. I wrote it on an autoharp my late grandma Marilyn Liddicoat gave me. She was an opera singer and used it as a prop, back when Cabrillo had an opera company. My dad Joseph Haselton was also in that opera company. The song is about wanting to communicate with a partner in a volatile relationship and the back-and-forth, on-and-off again nature of something ending. The bridge is me encouraging myself: ‘I’m with her’ reminds me to be a supporter on my team/my side. Kyle Reinhart added all the production to this one, before it was simply vocals and autoharp. He played the electric guitar on the track himself.”
Bleeding Love is a piano piece inspired by listening to her dad Joe play classical piano when she was growing up. “He’s amazing and would play pieces from technical composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff. The melody, lyrics, and album cover are influenced by the dark rock band Evanescence.” Good Dogs is a fun campfire guitar song about our trusty canine companions and was featured in a live video promotion for the Santa Cruz SPCA in 2023.
In 2024 she released Orphan, written by her late boyfriend Rael. “We recorded this one in the Nashville apartment together before he passed away. I really love the rock-style of the song and the guitar parts. It reminds me of the rock bands I grew up singing for.” Her single In a Dream is written by Kyle Reinhart, a guitarist and Berklee-grad from her East Bay pop punk band days. “He asked me to sing on the re-recording of the song before he moved to Los Angeles, where he does music full time.”
Alecia filmed a video for her composition, My Letter, in front of the Felton Post Office. That song, as well as 6 others, will be released soon. “My Letter is about mailing items back to an ex and wondering if you should add a note. Spoiler alert: I did!” She also has 3 piano songs and 3 ukulele songs almost ready for release.
She did a lot of co-writing in Nashville and would love to do the same in Santa Cruz. She’s available as a studio vocalist and backing vocals for collaborations. Her current stage lineups include musicians Kyle Talty of Santa Cruz rockabilly band El Brick on drums, Pat James from her East Bay pop punk days on guitar, and Steve L’Hereault on bass or guitar. Occasionally they are joined by Santa Cruz gigging bassist David DeSilva. “The music we play depends on the venue and crowd,” she said. “I do originals and covers of many different genres. For example, I’ll do more country at Over the Hill Gang Saloon, Americana on a Sunday afternoon at Joe’s Bar in the mountains, or more rock and originals at a local band venue like The Blue Lagoon.”
The same thing goes for energy on stage and crowd interaction. She said she learned a lot in Nashville about engaging with the crowd. “For a full band show at a biker bar like Henfling’s, you may see me get up on the bar or lead everyone in a “Cheers!” from the stage! On the other hand, solo-acoustic at Chaminade, I’m taking requests and showing my Natalie Merchant/Jewel/The Cranberries-influenced softer, more intimate side and vocals.”
Enjoying intimate shows and big stages. She’s played at Summerfest in Milwaukee on a huge stage opening for famous artists. In Nashville, she played to hundreds of people in the huge bars on packed weekend nights. But you’ll also find her doing a quiet duo set at a small place like Brewtopia in Capitola where she can interact with each guest and get to know what kind of music they like and steer her setlist toward that. “Some of my favorite show moments are when kids are there, spontaneously enjoying the music. Children can be so bold and confident compared to adults! They don’t get as embarrassed. They make me laugh all the time. I always put out a tambourine and shaker so they feel encouraged to join in the fun. Sometimes they’ll request something like “Wheels On the Bus” and I’ll do it. I guess I am basically a big kid! I’m pretty silly and fun, so I always get along well with the kids.”
Look for new music and in-studio collaborations with local legends like drummer Donnie Green of The Joint Chiefs Band to round out 2025. She has a ukulele song called Beautiful Life almost ready to go plus a folk music cover effort. She and her future brother-in-law Matt Moskwa have just recorded a version of Fleet Foxes’ White Winter Hymnal that should come out soon.
Inspired by her travels, Alecia said, “Life is full of chapters. And seasons. Remember it’s normal to have ups and downs. I’ve gone through some rough patches recently: a move home, a breakup, figuring out my career, etc., but I’m finally starting to feel good and happy again. I’m really excited about getting back into my original music being home in Santa Cruz.”
Catch Alecia Haselton live at Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz on Friday, December 12th from 5:30-8:30pm. And on Sunday, December 21st, join Alecia at the annual Horse & Hound holiday caroling event in Felton. “My dad plays piano and sings carols from the back of a tow truck. Horseback riders and dog walkers trail behind, with everything lit up in Christmas decor and lights. It’s casual and fun. Usually we gather around the post office in the late afternoon/early evening. Alecia will also be at Discretion Brewing Company on Friday, February 20th from 5:30-7:30pm. Follow Alecia Haselton on YouTube and social media: @aleciahaselton | aleciahaselton.com
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