Bartees Leon Cox Jr., (born January 30, 1989) known by his stage name Bartees Strange, is an English-born American musician. Cox was born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, England, raised in Mustang, Oklahoma, and is now based in Washington D.C.

Early life

Cox was born in

, England, to a military father and opera-singer mother. The family moved from England to Germany, Greenland and various US states before settling in Mustang, Oklahoma, when he was aged 12. Before becoming a musician, Cox worked as the director of communications for a nonprofit environmental organization in Washington D.C.

Career

While living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, Cox was a member of

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

band Stay Inside from 2016 to 2018. In late 2017, Cox released his first solo effort, the acoustic folk EP "Magic Boy" under the name Bartees & The Strange Fruit. In March 2020, Cox released an EP of re-imagined covers of songs by The National, titled '' Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy'', on Brassland. After being named an "Artist To Watch" by

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awa ...

, he released his debut solo LP, '' Live Forever'', on October 2, 2020. Featuring a mix of hip hop, indie rock, and jazz music, the album was met with positive reception. Later that year, Cox participated in the 2020

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

Signals V2 live show, and continued to tour throughout 2021 and 2022, supporting artists such as Lucy Dacus,

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, '' Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and '' Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical accla ...

Courtney Barnett Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP ''I've Got a Friend Calle ...

, and Car Seat Headrest. In 2022, Cox released his second album, '' Farm to Table''. Following the album's release, he toured alongside artists such as The National, Japanese Breakfast, and Metric.

Personal life

Cox identifies as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Live Forever'' (2020) – Memory Music *'' Farm to Table'' (2022) –

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

Extended plays

*''Magic Boy'' (2017) (as Bartees & The Strange Fruit) *'' Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy'' (2020) – Brassland *''Tisched Off'' (2022) –

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

Singles

As lead artist As featured artist ;Guest appearances ;Remixes

Tours

Headlining *2021 Tour (2021) Supporting *

–

Reunion Tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

(2021) * Lucy Dacus – 2021 Tour (2021) *

– North American Tour (2021) * Car Seat Headrest – North American Tour (2022) * The National – 2022 Tour (2022) * Metric – The Doomscroller Tour (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Bartees 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American male singers 21st-century LGBT people 4AD artists American rock singers American hip hop singers American jazz singers Bisexual men Bisexual singers Bisexual songwriters American LGBT singers American LGBT songwriters Living people 1989 births Musicians from Ipswich Musicians from Oklahoma People from Mustang, Oklahoma