Cheyenne Marie Mize

Singer/songwriter Cheyenne Marie Mize has become a name to know in the Indie world thanks to her gauzy, twilight-twinkle music and, especially, her enchanting vocals. She has also benefited from being a member of the supportive and fertile Louisville music scene, the source of many collaborations and relationships that have helped in Mize’s development and raised profile.

Mize is a member of Louisville acts Arnett Hollow (playing fiddle and singing with the Indie ’Grass ensemble) and the all-female trio Maiden Radio, which just released a new album, Lullabies, that was produced by Northern Kentucky-bred Sub Pop recording artist Daniel Martin Moore. But it was her collaboration with Louisville’s greatest cult hero, Bonnie “Prince” Billy (aka Will Oldham), on the 10-inch vinyl EP Among the Gold (featuring covers of antique American “parlor songs”) that first put her name in front of a much wider, even international audience. She has also been a touring member of Oldham’s band and performed with Moore and another Louisville artist, Ben Sollee, on the duo’s tour behind the Dear Companion album last year.

Last year was also Mize’s time to take center stage as a solo artist. Her debut solo release, Before Lately, was very well received when released last fall. The album utilizes sparse arrangements that sometimes sound like a music box, while other times show some of the Americana influence of her other bands. But all of it is presented in the same spectral haze, her dreamlike songs seeming to float like clouds. The guiding light is Mize’s mesmerizing singing voice, a haunting, goosebump-worthy instrument that is in the same class as Cat Power, Hope Sandoval and Cincinnati’s Kim Taylor.

Between her vocals, the tempered arrangements and general originality, Mize — who has been earning more fans on the road, touring Europe and the U.S. with Indie Folk troupe Vandaveer — stands a good chance of becoming the next artist to make Indie fans worldwide say, “There must be something in the water in Louisville.”

This article appears in Aug 3-9, 2011.