Nashotah Smith

The typical story hangs over Nashotah Smith’s head: the classically-trained musician who shuns music only to return to it with big ambitions. She started playing piano at age three, had her first public performance at a recital at a local college at the tender age of 3 1/2, spent much of her teens earning money by playing piano at private parties and country clubs, and taught herself guitar at 15. While attending the University of Minnesota, she played select solo shows – opening up for acts such as Edith Frost and Rebecca Gates – and joined a shoegazer outfit, the Minneapolis band Puritan with whom she released one album, before moving to France and abandoning playing music. Five years later – with stays in London, Provence, and New York under her belt – she finally picked up her songwriting again after moving to Milwaukee and is currently working on her first solo release. Her influences range from the obvious jazz standards and her classical background as well as her love of dream-pop and shoegazer sounds from Slowdive, Ride, and Lush. But above all, she has a weak spot for an off-beat, well-crafted pop song from the likes of The Kinks, Burt Bacharach, or Pulp.