Molly Kruse: Before her music career drew her to Southern California, Kruse grew up in another artists’ haven, pre-Silicon Valley Bay Area. A music-loving family assured she came of age listening to a plethora of folksy artists spanning from George Strait to Brandi Carlile to Patsy Cline. “My grandfather fancied himself a cowboy, and our house was always playing country, classic rock, folk, and Americana, which all influenced my sound. The themes of country music—heartbreak, loneliness, tenderness—really left an impression on me and I also came to respect how technical of a genre it is.” She fell in love with country music, and with encouragement from her mother, started vocal training at age 12. She then would later teach herself acoustic guitar and start doing small local gigs.
A spiritual revelation (“God, the universe, whatever you want to call it”) would cause her to pack up her used Honda Civic and move to Los Angeles on a whim in 2012. Here she would release her self-titled debut EP, a frothy blend of soul and pop with a dash of Americana. This was where she began to experiment with the country sound in ornate tracks like “Ruby,” where the strumming of a banjo can sometimes be heard behind her rich, plaintive vocals.
Los Angeles is not a country music mecca, but surprisingly it’s where Kruse would hone her country sound, find her creative community and get to the heart of who she is as an artist. “My music wouldn’t be what it is without Los Angeles. It’s interesting because I feel L.A. is seen as a hedonistic place where artists descend into madness, drugs and all kinds of excess, but it’s been so formative for me. It’s where I became more balanced and emotionally healthy, which allowed me to grow as an artist.”
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Jessie Thoreson & The Crown Fire is an upbeat folk-rock band whose propulsive melodic energy is grounded by upright bass and drums and buoyed by acoustic guitar, keys, and vocal harmonies. This music is inspired by lyrical stylings of the folk legends Joni Mitchell and John Prine but draws from the grit and complexity of artists including Fiona Apple, Madison Cunningham, and Lake Street Dive.
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