Los Angeles-via-Wichita Americana artist Katie Jo is gearing up to release her debut album, Pawn Shop Queen, this spring. While she’s a relative newcomer to the scene, she makes up for it in life experience. You can hear it in her voice—sweet yet road-weary, a contemporary torchbearer for classic country stars like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Her lyrics tell the tale of a woman who’s had her heart broken more than once but still stands strong.
Pawn Shop Queen—out April 9—tackles themes at the dark heart of country music: infidelity, religion, depression. For the album, Katie Jo worked with Chris Schlarb at Ego Studios in Long Beach. She met Schlarb through her pedal steel player, session musician George Madrid. Schlarb assembled an impressive cast to play on the record, which was tracked live in just three days.