Candace "Candi" Carpenter is an American singer-songwriter who was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

but raised in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

. Carpenter made their musical debut in 2017 with the single "Burn the Bed", released through

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music, Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Records#Columbia Nashville, Colu ...

. Jonathan Keefe of Country Universe rated the single "A-", praising Carpenter's "smoky" voice and the detail of the lyrics. In 2024, Carpenter released their

alt-pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

debut, ''Demonology'', a full-length album produced by Carpenter, Peter Shurkin, and Alden Witt. The music centers around highly personal stories of growing up in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and leaving

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. After years of performing as a

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

artist, this release was a sonic and thematic departure.

Personal life

Carpenter identifies as

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

and uses ''they/them'' pronouns. Carpenter is autistic.

Chart positions

Singles

References

Alternative pop musicians American indie pop musicians American indie rock musicians American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American musicians with disabilities American non-binary musicians American singer-songwriters Autism activists Living people LGBTQ musicians with disabilities LGBTQ people from Ohio Musicians from Toledo, Ohio Autistic musicians Non-binary singers Non-binary songwriters People from Lansing, Michigan Singer-songwriters from Michigan Singer-songwriters from Ohio Year of birth missing (living people) Autistic LGBTQ people American autistic people {{US-musician-stub