Kristin Hersh

Kristin Hersh proved herself a truly independent artist with her bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, but her solo career allowed her to express that independence in ways that went beyond her other projects. Her acoustic solo debut, 1994’s Hips and Makers, displayed the full range of her piercing vocals and intricate guitar playing more fully than her work with the Muses up to that point, and she dug deeper into her love of folk with 1998’s collection of Appalachian murder ballads, Murder, Misery and Then Goodnight. Later, she reframed the cathartic rock she mastered with the Muses on solo albums such as 2001’s Sunny Border Blue and 2018’s Possible Dust Clouds. As time passed, writing and finding innovative ways to finance independent music became as important to her body of work as her actual music. Hersh established Throwing Music (and later, CASH Music) as a platform to fund and distribute her releases years before crowdfunding became commonplace for indie musicians. As an author, she won acclaim for her 2010 memoir, Rat Girl, and 2015’s Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt, both of which bore the same direct yet poetic voice of her songwriting.