Bartees Leon Cox Jr. (born 1989), known professionally as Bartees Strange, is an English-born American musician. Strange was born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, England, raised in Mustang, Oklahoma, and is based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Early life

Strange was born in

, England, to a military father and opera-singer mother. The family moved from England to Germany,

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, and various US states, before settling in Mustang, Oklahoma, when Strange was 12. Before becoming a musician, Strange worked as the director of communications for a nonprofit environmental organization in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Career

While living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Strange was a member of the

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. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band Stay Inside, from 2016 to 2018. In late 2017, he released his first solo effort, the acoustic folk EP ''Magic Boy'', under the name Bartees & the Strange Fruit. In March 2020, Strange 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 awar ...

in 2020, Strange released his debut full-length album, '' Live Forever'', on October 2, 2020. Featuring a mix of hip hop, indie rock, and jazz music, the album received positive reviews. Strange toured throughout 2021 and 2022, supporting artists such as Lucy Dacus,

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

, Courtney Barnett, and

Car Seat Headrest Car Seat Headrest is an American indie rock band formed in Leesburg, Virginia, and currently located in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Will Toledo (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers), Ethan Ives (guitar, bass, backing voca ...

. In 2022, Strange released his second album, '' Farm to Table'', to critical acclaim. In 2025, he issued his latest record, titled '' Horror''.

Personal life

Strange is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Live Forever'' (2020) * '' Farm to Table'' (2022) * '' Horror'' (2025)

EPs

* ''Magic Boy'' (2017) (as Bartees & the Strange Fruit) * '' Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy'' (2020) * ''Magic Boy'' (2024) (2017 EP in new configuration, with different art and additional music)

Live albums

* ''Live at Studio 4'' (2021)

Singles

As lead artist As featured artist Guest appearances Remixes

Production discography

Tours

Headlining * 2021 Tour Supporting *

– Reunion Tour (2021) * Lucy Dacus – 2021 Tour * Courtney Barnett – North American Tour (2021) *

– North American Tour (2022) * The National – 2022 Tour *

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: Measuring * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics ...

– The Doomscroller Tour (2022) * Boygenius – The Tour (2023) * The National – 2023 European Tour

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Bartees 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American LGBTQ people 4AD artists American rock singers American hip-hop singers American jazz singers Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers Bisexual songwriters American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters Living people 1989 births Musicians from Ipswich Musicians from Oklahoma People from Mustang, Oklahoma British emigrants to the United States