Tonight’s episode featured quite a few artists, but one, in particular, caught my attention. Her name is Erin McKeown, she’s a little bit country, a little rock and roll, a combo of swing and folk, and a whole lot of voice. In episode 510, we heard "To the Stars" from her 2005 release, We Will Become Like Birds. It’s quite easy to get lost in her music and after hearing tonight’s track, I found myself immediately sifting through album after album until I stopped for a second to gasp at the fact that at the age of 29 and without much publicity, this fabulous multi-instrumentalist has already put out five albums and two EPs! And she’s scheduled to release another album in September of this year!


Photo by Merri Cyr

Her latest album, Sing You Sinners, is mainly a collection of standards from the '20s and '50s and it’s definitely worth the purchase. As most of you know, one of my favorite artists that I just go gaga for is M. Ward and Erin is very reminiscent of a female Ward, with a career similar to Ani DiFranco. Now, that’s an unstoppable combination in my opinion! While we’re on the topic of M. Ward (like how I did that there?), I just found out that he has joined forces with actress Zooey Deschanel to form She & Him. Their first record, conveniently titled Volume I, is due out March 18th, and is a collection of songs they’ve described as a “love letter to all of the musicians who inspired it.”



About a year and a half ago, I went to see M. perform for the first time at the El Rey Theater. It was just him, his guitar and a few of his country and surf-rock inspired tunes resting comfortably in my belly (along with a few cocktails) that night. And to my surprise, at the end of the set he brought out Zooey. I had no clue that she was one of a long line of actresses-turned-rockstars and was incredibly skeptical of her presence, but I thought, “Hey if M. digs her, I should give her a chance.” That night, the duo called upon the ghosts of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash — actually, I’m pretty sure they even played a Cash song or two. Deschanel dropped her guitar at one point, but it was just another highlight to add to the pleasant nature of the evening. I figured they would work together again but had no idea they would actually start a band! So you all know where I’ll be on March 18th! In the meantime, check out their rendition of "I Put a Spell on You."