Ruthie Collins

Raised on a grape farm in Fredonia, New York, singer/songwriter Ruthie Collins had already sharpened her craft in Boston and Texas before relocating to Nashville. Those diverse experiences are mirrored in her own music, whose blend of country, folk, and Americana is glued together by autobiographical lyrics and an achingly emotive voice. Collins introduced that sound with her self-titled, six-song EP in 2014, then expanded it with 2017’s Get Drunk and Cry and 2020’s Cold Comfort. When the Covid-19 pandemic brought her touring plans to a halt, she funneled her creativity into new recordings like “Hypocrite.” Packaged alongside homemade acoustic renditions of crowd favorites like “Joshua Tree” and “Hey Little Girl,” “Hypocrite” appeared on 2022’s Cold Comfort +, a deluxe reissue that added new layers to an already multi-dimensional album. Meanwhile, LA Times praised Collins’ “sunny demeanor,” Rolling Stone raved that “Collins’ voice has the fluttery nuances more common in Seventies Laurel Canyon than in modern country,” and Billboard praised her music’s “ethereal vocals alongside soaring string features, minimal piano parts, and delicate percussion.”

Sources: 3rd and Lindsley, Ticketweb