 | | Mariee Sioux is a contemporary folk singer/songwriter from California who made her official album debut in 2007 on the label Grass Roots Record Co. |
 | | Penning songs that are offbeat in narrative, but literate and emotionally revealing, and performing them in a soulful, idiosyncratic style that reveals both strength and fragility, Cat Power was one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters to emerge from the 1990s indie rock scene, a one of a kind artist unafraid to reveal her inner self in her music and follow her muse in a variety of different directions. |
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 | | Sarabeth Tucek is an American singer/songwriter whose debut single, "Something for You," was critically acclaimed in the British media upon its release in 2007. |
 | | An acoustic duo whose simple, heartfelt music suggests the warmth and sincerity of folk-leaning singer/songwriter material from the '60s and '70s, the Finches consist of lead vocalist and guitarist Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and guitarist and singer Aaron Morgan. |
 | | Breathe Owl Breathe is a Michigan-based trio that plays atmospheric, evocative acoustic-based music, fusing folk traditions with the adventurous approach of indie rock. |
 | | A classically trained viola player and multi-instrumentalist, Anni Rossi launched a songwriting career in her early twenties, drawing comparisons to Joanna Newsom and other equally anachronistic musicians. |
 | | The Battle of Land & Sea is a musical showcase for the songs and vocals of Sarah O'Shura, who can evoke a startling emotional power despite the gentleness of her instrument and the sparseness of her recordings. |
 | | Indie folk singer/songwriter Thao Nguyen crafts delicate but memorable songs tinged with country and blues, and her rich voice and thoughtful lyrics draw comparisons to Fiona Apple and Cat Power. |
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 | | Leslie Feist -- best known simply as Feist -- was a respected member of the Canadian alternative music community before becoming an international pop sensation with the success for her albums Let It Die and The Reminder. |
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 | | A singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Detroit-born Sufjan Stevens started venturing into the music world while attending Hope College as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band based in Holland, Michigan. |
 | | Indie folk singer/songwriter Luke Temple was born in Salem, Massachusetts, though he lived for a time in Northern California before returning to New England as a painting student at the School of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. |
 | | Born in a small town in Connecticut, singer/songwriter Jennifer O'Connor (who moved with her family to Florida right before she started high school) was always interested in music. |
 | | A native of the small rural Oregon town of Coquille, singer-songwriter and classically trained cellist Laura Gibson is part of the Pacific Northwest folk-pop scene that centers on the Portland-based indie label Hush Records, formerly the home of the Decemberists. |
 | | Alt-country chanteuse Shelley Short was born and raised in Portland, OR. According to Bob Mehr's profile in the February 3 edition of the Chicago Reader, she was introduced to a vast range music via her record-collector father, and after a stint playing trombone in her middle school band she played bass in a punk duo dubbed Bogadoy. |
 | | A charming folksinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (playing the guitar, bass, harmonica, ukulele, and even kazoo from time to time), Priscilla Ahn was raised in rural Bernville, Pennsylvania. |
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 | | Singer/songwriter Misty Boyce was born in New Mexico and began writing songs at the age of nine. She studied jazz piano at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, after which she moved to New York. |
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 | | A folk-pop duo made up of guitarist John Paul White and vocalist Joy Williams, the Civil Wars made a quick name for themselves with the release of a digital album, Live at Eddie's Attic, in 2009. |
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 | | Although she was born and raised in suburban New Jersey, Sharon Van Etten’s folk music evokes the open landscapes and lonely expanses of Middle America. |
 | | The indie folk ensemble Brown Bird initially formed as a vehicle for lead vocalist and songwriter David Lamb. |
 | | Steeped in the musical heritage and folklore so abundant in the northeast of England, Rachel Unthank and her younger sister Becky found a fresh way of presenting the songs, stories, and customs of their home area around Ryton, Newcastle, to a young new audience. |
 | | A member of the New York anti-folk scene that developed in the early part of the 21st century, singer/songwriter Jaymay (real name: Jamie Kristine Seerman) has drawn comparisons to Feist and Laura Veirs with her wistful vocals and literate, folksy narratives. |
 | | Canadian chanteuse Amy Millan is best known for fronting the indie rock act Stars. Millan's charming girlish vocals have also appeared on albums from Sixteen Tons, Broken Social Scene, and Jason Collett. |
 | | She Keeps Bees may be a bassless guitar-and-drums duo playing indie rock with blues and country inflections, but their sound is less indebted to White Stripes or Black Keys and more aligned with Cat Power or even Amy Winehouse. |
 | | English singer/pianist Jasmine van den Bogaerde, who goes by the stage name “Birdy,” was born in 1996 in Lymington, Hampshire. |
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 | | Born in Buffalo, NY, singer/songwriter David Stith spent his formative years surrounded by music. The son of a college wind ensemble/church director and pianist mother with a pair of opera-singing sisters, Stith began his own music career after a long affair with writing, illustration, and graphic design. |
 | | There are plenty of ways to tie Arborea to the freak folk and new American guitar movements that emerged in the early 21st century. |
 | | Originally formed in Newcastle in 2008, Lanterns on the Lake combined dreamy indie rock with beautiful layers of texture and celestial melodies that thread around intricate instrumentation. |
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 | | Singer/songwriter Luke Winslow-King was born in Cadillac, Michigan, and began learning to play the guitar before adolescence. |
 | | Seattle-based songwriter David Karsten Daniels spent his formative years honing his skills in a high-school jazz band and choir, eventually attending university, where he added composition, theory, free improvisation, and performance art to his repertoire. |
 | | Brighton, England's Bat for Lashes is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Natasha Khan. The Pakistan-born Khan pulls from her art school education and her experience producing multimedia installations when it comes to writing songs. |
 | | Described as an anti-folk songstress, Newcastle Upon Tyne’s Beth Jeans Houghton mixes angelic vocals and acoustic guitar with samples, keyboards, and glam rock elements for a sound that's more fantastical than down to earth. |
 | | A veteran of New York's anti-folk scene, songwriter Regina Spektor makes quirky, highly eclectic, but always personal music. |
 | | Seven-piece chamber folk-pop band Canada began in late 2004 when a group of friends gathered in a basement and later a farm to write what would soon become the How Dare You EP and the debut full-length This Cursed House, released on Quite Scientific Records. |
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 | | A founding member of dreamy Scotland alternative rock group the Delgados, singer/songwriter/guitarist Emma Pollock signed to 4AD Records in 2005 after the band's amicable dissolution. |
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