Besides the immense raw rootsy pleasure of hearing a powerhouse multi-talented female country artist record authentic old school (meaning, REAL) classic-styled country music, emerging artist Kimberly Morgan York has two key things that set her apart from everyone on the typical Nashville assembly line.
First, collaborating with a batch of longtime musical cohorts (including ex husband Brad Morgan on drums) known as The Everlovin’ Band, he debut album Found Yourself A Lady features all-original material - meaning whether she’s regaling us with a whimsical jam like “Deuces and Jacks” or breaking our heart (helped out by Adam Musick's pedal steel guitar) on the reflective, regret-filled “Over You,” she’s inviting us into colorful, highly detailed slivers of her fascinating, well-traveled autobiography.
Likewise, no matter if she’s jumping around and kicking up dust (the spirited “Southern Girl Blues”) or seducing us with ballads full of heartfelt poetry (the mournful reflection “Now I Lay Me”), she reveals herself as an incredibly honest, insightful songwriter and storyteller.
Now for that second thing- in a life full of hard won wisdom, with musical dreams too long delayed and hit and miss and hit again romantic endeavors along what she calls her “conveyor belt of constant change,” she’s easily the only artist in her genre who cites her most important fictional role model as Auntie Mame (from the film Auntie Mame and later the musical).
As we travel along Kimberly’s fascinating road, bouncing from mid-tempo gems like “Real Thing” and “Let Me Go” to edgy, sass-filled barnburners like “You’ll Pay,” we can be lifted that no matter how much her pain may balance her life’s joys, she’s always following Mame’s iconic credo: “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”
It’s not in a lyric in one of her songs (yet!), but she is a firm believer in the art of eating up all of life, from the highs to the lows and relishing every second. Her ability to wallow in the lows and feel them completely while celebrating her highs with big shouts makes her musical journey, so far and into the future (which will include a follow up album, Keep on Going, later this year), a fascinating one to follow and immerse in.