Gone Bluntry: Grace Askew Plays for Yahoo Music
Fiery Memphis “bluntry” (blues + country) singer Grace Askew first gained national attention last year on Season 4 of The Voice, with her whiskey-gargling rasp, Winehouse beehive, and badass attitude. It was one of the biggest Knockout Rounds upsets in the series’ history when her coach, Blake Shelton, let her go. Yahoo Music’s Reality Rocks even declared her the “Most-Robbed Contestant” of Season 4.
But Grace, who first auditioned for the show with a cover “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Third Man Records B-side, has moved on. She and her boots walked right into Memphis’s legendary Sun Studio, where she recorded her real, raw, and righteous Americana album Scaredy Cat, out this month. She’s appeared in Teen Vogue and Rolling Stone — and now, at Yahoo Music, where she recently swung by to play some acoustic “bluntry” tracks from Scaredy Cat.
“Bluntry” is a copyrighted term, by the way, so don’t even think of trying to steal it. But really, the word could only apply to its creator, Grace, who somehow simultaneously sounds totally of-the-moment and totally from a bygone era. See her perform here and talk candidly about life after The Voice and the past/future of country music.
Follow Lyndsey on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Amazon, Tumblr, Vine, Spotify