lauraandthekilledmen

Laura and the Killed Men steep their songs in the lore of the American West, refracting its triumphs and tragedies through an intimate lens. Laura Kepner-Adney, the lead singer and guitarist in the Tucson-based band, shades her spellbinding voice with echoes of country and Appalachia. Her expansive songwriting, honed from seven years in the critically acclaimed ensemble Silver Thread Trio, highlights her connection to Arizona’s unforgiving environment. For Laura and the Killed Men’s first LP, Everchanging Trail, Kepner-Adney, in collaboration with songwriting partner and lead guitarist Sam Golden, has developed a style that weaves together all the diverse and disparate elements of what has defined country music throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and forges something timelessly familiar yet wholly unique. Bob Hanshaw and Björgvin Benediktsson, sharing bass duties, and Seth Vietti, drums, supply soaring vocal harmonies and a tightly refined backbeat. After making their debut opening for Mavis Staples, Laura and the Killed Men recorded the One Bell hybrid CD/analog record and embarked on a nine-week national tour. Their first full-length album, Everchanging Trail (released April 2016), uses songs they wrote on their 12,000-mile journey around the country.