For Regina Ferguson, the joy of music lies in the creative process and in finding the spirit in the song. The singer-songwriter, based in Topanga Canyon, has a gift for melodies that linger and lyrics that get to the heart of the human experience. Her strengths shine through on her upcoming sophomore album, Angel in Disguise, set to be released in Spring 2027.

Born in Pennsylvania as the middle of 11 children in a Catholic household, Ferguson grew up singing in church and listening to ‘90s country on the radio; she taught herself guitar at a young age. Ferguson found songwriting as a way to express herself as she navigated a childhood that taught her early on to thrive amid chaos and fight for everything she could get. This mantra sharpened her vision as she pursued music. 

Ferguson relocated to South Carolina, where she spent her formative musical years cutting her teeth in the local bars from the capital city to the coast. Settling in Charleston, she let the Deep South's musical influences shape her songwriting while working nights as a jazz and wedding singer. Here, her self-assurance as a performer first emerged, along with the electric live performances she’d become known for.

When she moved to Los Angeles, she ultimately landed in the city’s rustic Topanga Canyon neighborhood and felt at home, physically and spiritually. “I moved to Los Angeles and somehow ended up in a cabin in the woods,” she laughs. The area’s rich history of folk-rock and western-leaning country, along with its artist-friendly environment, helped Ferguson’s creativity flourish. The cross-country move pushed her out of her comfort zone, and she welcomed it.

“Monotony is not my friend,” she says. “I thrive on new places, new people, and new experiences. I want to get lost in the physical world, not found. As I’ve gotten deeper into my artistry, I’ve learned not to treat life like a waiting room. I want to live in a place that gives me the things I value outside of music too.”

As she settled in Southern California, Ferguson found her footing, and her songwriting blossomed. She crafted an assured sound naturally rooted in Americana, with an alt-country, roots-rock, and outlaw edge. This sonic identity appeared on her debut album, Fortune, and is more pronounced and refined on her new album, Angel in Disguise.

“Fortune was a reflection of where I was at that point in my life as I was discovering who I was as an artist,” she explains. “With Angel in Disguise, I feel much more certain about what I want the music to sound and feel like. I wanted this record to be more immediate, more alive, and more representative of who I am now. It feels much closer to the artist I’ve grown into.”

On Angel in Disguise, she enlisted influential producer Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Miley, Billy Strings, Margo Price), whom she met at a neighborhood festival. Recorded at his nearby Topanga studio over a week in early 2026, the album featured a more collaborative yet efficient studio process. “Seven days to record an entire album doesn't leave a whole lot of time to second-guess yourself,” she says. Wilson played drums on the entire album while the band tracked live to tape, creating a raw, palpable energy that makes you feel like you’re right there with them. Wilson also mixed the album, leaving a strong footprint on the record. Written entirely by Ferguson, Angel in Disguise showcases an artist who is comfortable in her own skin and unafraid to look deep inside and around herself.

That authentic approach informs her songwriting. On Angel in Disguise, Ferguson blends classic songwriting with clever, inspired tropes rooted in personal experience and situational narratives. Many of the album’s 12 original songs (plus a moody, melodic cover of The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues”) thematically explore relationships, independence, longing, loss, resilience, and the search for belonging. Look no further than the opening track “Ride ‘til Dawn.” The song’s upbeat, free-flowing, groove-laden twang, combined with Ferguson’s sharp, reflective, cheekily delivered lyrics, shows her comfort in her voice and her focus as a songwriter.

“It can be challenging to write songs that aren't so serious,” she says of the song. “I had fun with the lighthearted nature. It turned into something you can just sit back and crank up.”

The title track strongly represents the album's sound. The mid-tempo track gradually builds and prominently features pedal steel, growing into a beautifully layered sonic space that best represents Ferguson’s sound.

“I wrote that song for a friend when she was a little bit lost in her life,” Ferguson says. “She called me her angel in disguise,’ and I said, ‘‘That's a great song title, and so I wrote the song for her, which became the foundation of the record. The title also reflects the sentiment of me being pulled to Los Angeles and all the people along the way that helped guide me to make this album.”

Life in Los Angeles, and trying to make it, can be difficult. Ferguson addresses this topic on “Lone Star.” The song’s reflective lyrics explore life in a big city, finding comfort in staying somewhat anonymous while standing on your own and realizing there isn’t one clear path to finding success in the arts. The lyrics of that song, “I'm a lone star stuck in the middle/Gave it all up just to get a little” and “I’m a lone star let it all burn/I ain’t ever gonna wait my turn,” are the words of a fiery, assertive songwriter taking matters into her own hands.

“I was the middle of eleven kids, so that ‘stuck in the middle’ line has a little extra baggage,” Ferguson says with a laugh. “Writing the song was cheaper than therapy.”

As Angel in Disguise shows, Regina Ferguson’s approach is grounded in real stories and deep enough to resonate with listeners' own lives. What sets Ferguson apart from many of her contemporaries is music that feels lived-in and deeply honest.

“It's all about the human experience and never giving up in the pursuit of something you love,” she says.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 - by Daniel Kohn