Liz Brasher, the newest signee to Fat Possum Records, is a timelessly American artist.
Born to devout Dominican parents outside of Charlotte, N.C., Brasher was raised in a medley of Baptist hymnals, Spanish-language artists and the family-approved secular pop song. She cut her chops in church choir at a young age, a path that would take her and her parents to televangelist's studios at a young age.
After pulling herself away from church stages (Brasher recalled to Billboard fronting rock bands in high school and clashing with her family over her admiration of The Beatles), she decided to trace a path -- as blues musicians a century before her did -- to Chicago, where she studied the origins of American music. All of these encounters carry through in Brasher's strain of soul, one that's flush with lyrical nods to Biblical images, Rubber Soul harmonies and a gruff reverence to its southern roots.