MCKENZIE LAUREN JONES

ABOUT

McKenzie Lauren Jones is a singer, songwriter, and arts and culture worker whose music bridges the personal and political, the spiritual and material. Based in Ithaca, NY, she has been a lifelong cellist, poet, dancer, and vocalist weaving together folk, soul, and rock traditions with storytelling. 

As the frontwoman and songwriter of Strange Heavy and co-founding member of Mama Look, McKenzie has performed across local and regional stages for decades. She has released two studio albums with Strange Heavy and is now stepping into principle artistry with Ancestors, an original recording and performance project that explores identity, lineage, liberation, and belonging through collaborative and movement-driven songs debuting in 2026. 

McKenzie has contributed backing instrumentation and vocals to a variety of projects, including The Ilium Works, La Llorona, Drew Kiddoo and the Blackouts, Laila Belle, and Rachel Beverly. In 2025, she presented on music cooperatives at AmericanaFest and also performed in Nashville, bringing together her dual roles as an artist and activist. 

In parallel with her music, McKenzie works as a cooperative developer building structures of equity within grassroots organizations and justice-oriented businesses.