Tawny Newsome

Tawny has always done... a lot. You may know her from comedies like Space Force (Netflix) or Star Trek Lower Decks. Musically, her roots are in Chicago’s indie alt-country scene, with longtime collaborator Jon Langford (Mekons). She and fellow actor/musician Bethany Thomas started as an inseparable bar band backing duo, eventually earning reputations as formidable arrangers. A Talking Heads tribute band gig gave her a love of polyrhythms and poly-blends. It’s also why she starts jogging if anyone plays Life During Wartime.

2008 found her recording with Langford and Aboriginal country star Roger Knox. ‘Stranger in My Land’(Bloodshot) is Black man’s country music, where pedal steel underscores tales of invasion and loss. Hear Tawny on the forlorn but cheery ‘Arafura Pearl'

She honed her studio technique on Langford’s folk-rock albums 'Old Devils' (Bloodshot) and the more strident yet lush 'Here Be Monsters' (In De Goot). 2016 brought the ‘Four Lost Souls’ (Langford, Thomas and guitarist John Szymanski) to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Their eponymous LP showcases Langford’s finest writing, and her and Thomas' now seamless, decade-old vocal blend.

'Material Flats' is a debut-ish album for her and Thomas. Blending garage-punk, soulfully sung folk, and plenty of washy indie wave stuff, they finally made something entirely their own. They even recorded and engineered it themselves in Tawny’s home studio in the Mojave desert.

And if you don't like any of this, there's always comedy.