Chloe Kimes is a Michigan born singer, songwriter and bandleader currently based in Nashville, TN. In 2022 Kimes independently released her self titled debut album — voted "Listener's Choice Album of the Year" by WYCE Radio as well as landing her a spot on NPR Music's Top Ten Nashville Artists on the Rise. In 2024 she released her latest single "Coors Light" following its immense viral popularity, and spent the year touring a fresh batch of originals on the shoulders of her well loved debut, "it’s the early marks of a great Americana storyteller-in-the-making, cut from a cloth reminiscent of contemporary roots heroes like Lucinda Williams." (Johnathan Frahm, For Folk’s Sake) A songwriting troubadour with new music pointing towards a courageous sophomore release, she fronts a spirited alt-country outfit. Kimes and her band offer a striking live show with a timeless sound, her tireless voice leading the way, her sentiments forging their own new space in the country americana scene.

On his second album, The Fatalist, Carl “Buffalo” Nichols does things with the blues that might catch you off guard. There’s 808 programming, chopped up Charley Patton samples, washes of synth. There’s a consideration of the fullness of the sonic stage and the atmospherics of the music that can only come with a long engagement with electronic music. But this is no gimmicky hybrid or attempt to turn the blues into 21st century music by simply dressing it with skittering hi-hats. Nichols’ vision for the blues is of a form of music that’s intimately tied to everyday life in 2023, something that’s reflected not only in the choice of instrumentation, but in the complexities of the songwriting and the gray areas his lyrics explore. This is music that comes straight from the present, and as such, it’s a reminder that the same shit that drove the first blues singers to pick up a guitar is still present behind the throbs of deep bass hits today. The Fatalist sounds unlike any blues record you’re likely to hear in 2023.

Congrats to JT and Lex!