Raye Zaragoza: Songs of Strength and Softness
aye Zaragoza has always made music that refuses to stay silent. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter first caught attention with protest songs like “In The River,” written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and later with anthems like “Fight Like a Girl” and “Red,” which take on reproductive rights and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. From the beginning, her voice has been a tool for visibility, weaving together her mixed Indigenous, Asian, and Hispanic heritage with a sharp eye for justice and truth.
Her 2023 album Hold That Spirit was a turning point, not only in sound but in intention. Funded by what would have been her wedding budget after calling off an engagement, Zaragoza chose instead to invest in herself. The record was created entirely with women producers, engineers, and musicians. This act of community-building stood out in an industry where women make up less than five percent of those credited behind the board. Songs like “Strong Woman” and “Not a Monster” carried a feminist pulse, making space for joy, grief, and resilience in equal measure.
This summer, she released another urgent protest song titled Who Says That’s Not American. Written with Anna Schulze and released on July 4, Zaragoza described it as a reflection on immigrant and Indigenous perseverance in America. “Against all odds, we keep rising and fighting,” she wrote when announcing the single. The track carries forward her long tradition of songs that confront injustice while celebrating resilience.
At the same time, Zaragoza is leaning into a different kind of strength with her new single Soft Season, co-written and produced with Beza. Born from the idea of being in a “soft girl era,” the track insists that softness and power can coexist. In a post about the song, Zaragoza reflected on what she learned after years of nonstop touring: that peace, slowness, and care for the body are not the opposite of empowerment but part of it. “You can still be soft and productive, soft and effective, soft and empowered, soft and rebellious,” she wrote. It is a reminder to root down in meditation, movement, and nature, even when life feels busiest.
Beyond her records, Zaragoza is also the songwriter behind Netflix’s Spirit Rangers, a children’s series with an all-Native writers room and cast. She recently completed a national tour with the Broadway production of Peter Pan, bringing new representation to the story’s stage legacy. These projects show the range of her work, from folk stages to animated storytelling to Broadway, all connected by her drive to create with honesty and inclusion.
Raye Zaragoza’s songs carry both a fight and a tenderness. They are a call to strength, but also a call to care for ourselves along the way. Whether she is raising her voice in protest or inviting listeners into her soft season, her work builds a world where music is not just heard but lived, together.
