You have to love Kim Richey. We do. In the world of independent touring singer-songwriters that we honor, Kim may well be the poster child. She is a traveler, after all, musically, physically, emotionally. Not merely restless or rootless, it’s who she is. Willing to follow where the music leads, she’s landed in New York, Nashville, London… working with a who’s who of producers… attracting a coterie of top-shelf genre-definers… Jason Isbell, Trisha Yearwood, Chuck Prophet, Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), Pat Sansone (Wilco)…for her critically-lauded projects… and also singing on records for Ryan Adams, Shawn Colvin, Isbell and Rodney Crowell and many others.

Part of what draws them to the dusky honey of her crystalline alto is the way she writes: to and from the soul, never flinching from the conflicts and crushing moments, yet always finding dignity and resilience. Her arc of the human heart is true. True enough that over the years as a songwriter, Kim has written No.1 hits for Radney Foster (“Nobody Wins”) and Trisha Yearwood (“Believe Me Baby”), the latter for which she was Grammy-nominated, as well as songs for Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gretchen Peters, Patty Loveless, Jamie Lawson, Brooks and Dunn, Jim Lauderdale and many more.

Over the past two decades Kim has released ten critically acclaimed albums, been listed in the ‘Top 10 Albums of 1999’ in Time Magazine for her album Glimmer, plus received 4-stars in Rolling Stone and named ‘Alt-Country Album of the Year’ in People Magazine for her album Rise. Her 2013 release Thorn In My Heart was named in year’s end best lists by No Depression, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press. She has written two #1 singles and had four others hit Top 10. Her songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Mary Chapin Capenter, James Morrison, Brooks and Dunn and many others. She has contributed backing vocals on albums by Trisha Yearwood, Ryan Adams, Shawn Colvin and Jason Isbell to name a few.

She is the real deal. A single genre has never defined her career. Her delivery can have a hint of folk, country, blues, roots, gospel… Yet, when you hear the first few notes of a Kim Richey song you know you’re in for a great ride; warm, expressive, melodic songs. Her music never disappoints.

-Arthur Bowman

Kim Richey