The Road Ahead — Returning to Where It All Began
After fifteen years, I’m finally re-releasing The Road Ahead — my first original album, recorded in a single day on a multitrack recorder with my mom in Sonora, California.
It’s raw. It’s imperfect. It’s emotional.
And it’s exactly what I needed to release now — not just to share my music, but to reconnect with the younger version of myself who poured her soul into it.
The Beginning of the Road
I created The Road Ahead during a pivotal time in my life. I was in college, still finding my footing — musically, emotionally, and personally.
I had grown up steeped in Celtic and fiddle music, attending fiddle contests and performing all over, but at that time I was immersed in classical training — performing with the Modesto Junior College Orchestra and competing in CODA and All-State Honor Orchestra events. Classical music was challenging and beautiful, and I fell in love with the discipline of it. I was practicing five to eight hours a day on my violin — not because I had to, but because I needed to.
I was also playing in local bands, performing at weddings, and writing music late into the night. Music was the only constant in a life that felt anything but stable.
This album was a way of blending all the parts of me — the fiddler, the classical student, the cinematic dreamer — into something honest and real. It was a mirror of who I was and a whisper of who I was becoming.
How the Album Was Made
“The Road ahead” CD.
I recorded The Road Ahead in May 2010, in my mom’s home living room in Sonora. We spent one Saturday arranging and recording as we went, using a Fostex VF-16 digital multitrack recorder. It was fast, organic, and deeply personal. There were very few retakes — most of the music was captured live, as it was being felt.
I played the violin as both the lead instrument and for layered harmonies. I also played mandolin and djembe, while my talented mom played the piano accompaniments. The sound is somewhere between cinematic instrumental, Americana, folk, Celtic, and classical — but honestly, it’s hard to put this album into a box. That’s kind of the point.
Some of the tracks came from earlier ideas I had saved on my little audio recorder — like Innocence, which I wrote the year before, and The Promise, which features a beautiful theme written by Gabe (my now husband) on guitar. There’s also Fleckish, a playful tune I first composed when I was a kid.
The music wasn’t polished, and it was never meant to be. It was a reflection of the chaos, vulnerability, and beauty of that chapter of my life.
Why I’m Releasing It Now
To be honest, I thought about re-releasing this album so many times over the years, but something always held me back.
Maybe it was the fact that everything was created under my maiden name (Hali Pekron). Or maybe it was that revisiting that version of myself felt too heavy, too emotional. Life has changed so much since then — I’ve grown, transformed, and stepped fully into my role as a multi-creative artist and mother.
But lately, I’ve found myself returning to those early chapters. Not to stay there — but to understand them, honor them, and integrate them.
I was just 19 years old when this album was recorded — young, vulnerable, and unsure of my place in the world. The music became my way of speaking when words felt too heavy. I didn’t know who I was yet, but I knew what I felt. And somehow, this album captured all the ache, hope, and quiet strength of a girl trying to find herself.
In order to move forward, I needed to look back.
The Road Ahead was never just about the future. It was about the winding, unpredictable path it takes to become who you’re meant to be. And for me, that road started here.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
A Quiet Dedication
There’s one part of this album I’ve never spoken about much until now.
The Road Ahead is quietly, wholeheartedly, dedicated to my dad.
He passed away from stomach cancer when I was just 11 years old. He was only 38. His loss changed everything — the shape of our family, the way I saw the world, and the depth from which I began to create.
But more than the grief, I remember his unwavering belief in me. His perseverance through pain, his steady encouragement, and the way he saw potential in me long before I saw it in myself. That belief became part of my compass.
Hali with her Dad, Scott.
Album Details + How to Listen
The Road Ahead is now streaming on Spotify.
Or download the digital album on Payhip:
💿 A limited batch of physical CDs will be available soon — complete with some behind-the-scenes extras!
📸 The album artwork features photos I captured myself, including the cover — an image of my great-grandmother’s farmhouse in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Though the house no longer stands, it remains etched in my memory, a quiet tribute to the roots that shaped me.
“The Road Ahead” album cover. Hali’s Great Grandma’s old farmhouse in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Photo by Hali Duran (Pekron).
For the Listeners
I hope that when you listen to this album, you hear not just the notes — but the emotion, the searching, the deep love for music that shaped my life. I hope it brings you stillness, inspiration, or even a little nostalgia for your own past selves.
And I hope it reminds you that the road ahead is never linear — but it’s always worth walking.
Thanks for being on the journey with me.
With love and music,
~Hali
