Lola Kirke has played many roles as an actress, but as a musician her sights have always been set on Country.
“I don’t totally get it either,” laughs the London born New York raised Kirke. “But I’ve always been drawn to dynamic parts for women, and I can’t think of any other genre where we glamorous, gritty, drunk, and tender, and all at once.”
After releasing her critically acclaimed sophomore LP “Lady for Sale” on Third Man Records in 2022, Kirke played sold out shows with the likes of Jenny Lewis and Margo Price. Then she went back into the studio to record her follow up EP, “Country Curious,” coming 2024, with the Grammy nominated artist Elle King as producer. “She’s always been so supportive of me. I love how she blends her roots rock sound with a real pop sensibility.” Their lifelong friendship made the collaboration even more of a shoe in. “She was the first girl I knew singing Country in New York City!”
After First Aid Kit invited her on tour, she invited them to feature on the EP’s first single, “All My Exes Live in LA.” The EP also features one of Kirke’s heroes, Rosanne Cash. “Lola is a stunning combination of wildness, beauty, and humor, with a voice that digs inside my head and heart,” Cash says of Kirke.
After listening to Kirke sing, or catching one of her effervescent live shows, you’ll be hard pressed to disagree.
Kassi Valazza
There is a cult-like fascination growing around Kassi Valazza following the self-release of her 2019 debut album Dear Dead Days and her surprise 2022 EP Highway Sounds. She is seated squarely at the vanguard of new American songwriters strengthening and broadening the sound of country music as she tours with celebrated acts such as Melissa Carper and Riddy Arman. The Southwestern native resides in Portland, a hotbed of songwriters producing albums that both bear the torch and bend the arc of American roots music, where she recently signed with Fluff & Gravy Records — a label known for launching Anna Tivel and Margo Cilker.