Cleo Reed

Cleo Reed is a Brooklyn-based sound composer, performer, and multi-disciplinary artist known for blending experimental, academic, and popular music traditions with deep personal and cultural themes. They are an alum of Harlem School of the Arts and Berklee College of Music, having developed software instruments for Jon Batiste’s “American Symphony” at Carnegie Hall. Reed’s debut album, *Root Cause*, and their 2025 double LP *Cuntry*—which explores the emotional and physical weight of labor in America—showcase their unique fusion of Southern folk, electronic hip-hop, and a commitment to amplifying Black artmakers. Their work extends beyond music into performance art, including *Black American Circus*, a self-directed piece that ties into their multi-disciplinary album project. Reed has received significant recognition, including the 2022 NYC Women’s Fund for Media Music and Theatre and fellowships at BRIC and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

With a passion for breaking binaries and creating spaces for self-care and improvisation, Cleo Reed embodies radical self-love and compassion through their art. They named themselves at 19 after their great-grandmother Cleophus, symbolizing a connection to lineage and identity that deeply informs their creative ethos. Their music and performances explore themes of femininity, radiance, and cyclical trauma, holding space for both noise and healing in a modern landscape of Black underground sound.

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