Laura Rose Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is 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, ...

singer-songwriter and DJ from

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee.

Biography

Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She briefly recorded songs with future

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Laura King. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that hel ...

guitarist

Mac McCaughan Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan (; born July 12, 1967) is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the ind ...

and others in a

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

band called

Bricks A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building u ...

and deejaying on the university's radio station, WKCR, until joining

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

after her graduation in 1993. Her singing career began when she was at college, performing with various local groups. She later befriended

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York–based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Earl ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

, with whom she sings on the band's '' Apollo 18'' (1992). Flansburgh also released her first solo material: an EP on his "Hello CD of the Month Club" in June 1996, which was reissued in 2004 as ''The Hello Recordings''. Cantrell married

Jeremy Tepper Jeremy Evan Tepper (November 18, 1963 – June 14, 2024) was an American musician, journalist, and record industry executive. The former frontman of the band World Famous Blue Jays, he founded the record label Diesel Only Records in 1990, along wi ...

, the founder of Diesel Only Records and later programming director of Sirius XM radio station Outlaw Country, in 1997. They have one daughter. Cantrell went on to release all but one of her studio albums on Diesel Only. Cantrell reached wider recognition in 2000 with her debut album, '' Not the Tremblin' Kind''. The album reached the attention of legendary UK DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, who wrote of it, "

t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

my favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life". She went on to record five sessions for Peel and dedicated her 2005 album, '' Humming by the Flowered Vine'', to his memory. In the spring of 2011, Cantrell released ''Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs Of the Queen of Country Music'', "a recording she made in honor of one of her heroines, the great

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording " It Wasn't God ...

", taking its title from an original song of Cantrell's written in tribute to Wells. Her 4th album of original material, ''No Way There From Here'', was released in the UK in September 2013, on Shoeshine/ Spit and Polish Records. The release preceded a tour of the UK. Cantrell's music has been celebrated in the press including features in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In recent years, she has been a contributor to ''The New York Times'' and VanityFair.com. Cantrell used to present a weekly country and

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

radio show on WFMU called ''The Radio Thrift Shop''. Since October 2005 she has only made occasional appearances on the station. In August 2017, she began hosting ''Dark Horse Radio'', a weekly 30-minute program on

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

featuring the music of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

. In June 2024, Jeremy Tepper, Cantrell's husband of 27 years, died.

Career outside music

In the early part of her career, Cantrell combined her musical activities with a day job as a vice-president in the equity research department of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

. She left this position in 2003. In 2011 she began working as a recruiter for

AllianceBernstein AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) is a global asset management firm providing investment management and research services worldwide to institutional, high-net-worth and Investor, retail investors. AllianceBernstein's headquarters are located ...

Discography

Albums

* '' Not the Tremblin' Kind'' (2000) * '' When the Roses Bloom Again'' (2002) * '' Humming by the Flowered Vine'' (2005) * ''Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music'' (2011) (UK chart peak: No. 138) * '' No Way There From Here'' (2014) * ''Just Like a Rose'' (2023)

EPs

* ''Laura Cantrell'' (1996) (Hello Records 67) * ''All the Same to You'' (2002) * ''The Hello Recordings'' (2004) – Reissue of 1996 EP * ''Humming Songs: Acoustic Performances from the Flowered Vine'' (2006) (download only) * ''

Trains and Boats and Planes "Trains and Boats and Planes" is a song written by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Hit versions were recorded by Bacharach in 1965, by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in the same year, and by Dionne Warwick in 1966. Original 19 ...

'' (2008)

Other releases

* '' This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation'' (2001) – (

Arena Rock Recording Co. Arena Rock Recording Company ("Arena Rock" or "ARRCO") is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch Entertainment Canada, Koch in Canada. Arena Rock was formed in 1995 ...

) * ''Ojo'' (album by

Vince Bell Vince Bell (born September 16, 1951) is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the PBS television program ''Austin City Limits'' along with NPR broadcasts such as ''Mountain Stage'', ''World Cafe (radio program), World Cafe'' and ''Morn ...

) (2018)

References

External links

*
''The Radio Thrift Shop'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantrell, Laura 1967 births Living people American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Drag City (record label) artists Columbia College (New York) alumni American radio DJs Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee American women radio hosts 21st-century American women