Eti Romano Navigates Trauma, Music Career Ahead of Indie Negev Festival

Singer-songwriter Eti Romano is set to perform her original songs for the first time at the Indie Negev Festival on October 15th, a significant milestone after a long journey in the music industry. Romano, 34, will open the main stage on Thursday evening. This performance was originally scheduled for October 2023 but was postponed due to the outbreak of war.

Romano's path to performing her own material was arduous. She spent years writing lyrics but struggled to find composers, eventually collaborating with musicians like Dudu Tassa, who helped her release her first song in 2020. She recalls approaching prominent artists like Tassa, Amir Benayoun, andכנסיית השכל (The Church of the Shcommon) to set her lyrics to music, feeling that their compositions best matched her vision.

Her music often explores personal struggles, including the aftermath of a sexual assault a decade ago, which led to significant hair loss. While she prefers not to dwell on the assault itself, Romano discusses her recovery process, aided by Torah classes and treatments like PRP for hair regrowth. She has recently begun to forgo wearing a wig, a symbol of her healing. Her upcoming album, her third, is described as an inward-looking exploration of personal shortcomings, a shift from her earlier work which often focused on external blame.

Romano currently works as a social integrator for a child with special needs, funding her music career. She expressed a desire to eventually earn a living solely from her music. Her artistic style defies easy categorization, with her songs appearing on diverse playlists from mainstream to hip-hop and Mediterranean genres, reflecting her eclectic influences and her reluctance to be confined to a single label.

Romano's personal life has also been marked by challenges, including a difficult divorce of her parents and a subsequent decade-long estrangement from her father, with whom she has since reconciled. She also endured a toxic relationship, from which she left despite being in love, an experience she describes as one of the bravest and most difficult things she has done. These experiences have shaped her music, giving it a rawer, more direct quality compared to her earlier, more polished vocal style.