Website: http://www.dawnlandes.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/dawnlandes

Raised in the wilds of Missouri and Kentucky, songstress Dawn Landes made the leap north to New York ten years ago. Ditching university to become a sound engineer, Landes went on to work with the likes of Phillip Glass and Ryan Adams. Before long, she started laying her own songs down late at night after the artists went home. Playing everything from accordions to glockenspiels and cheap guitars, Landes began carving out a unique body of work, equally informed by the grand old country dames of yore and the left-field hooks of vintage indie rock. Landes' unique compositions draw equally from folk and country, urban and rural, each of them held together by her beautiful, clear pipes.

After two records and an ep, in 2009, Landes released Sweet Heart Rodeo, her third record. Landes has said Sweet Heart Rodeo is not based on the Byrds' track of almost the same name, but rather on a young man her great-grandmother fell in love with who ran off and joined the rodeo during the Great Depression. The rodeo theme runs strong throughout the record, giving the listener the feeling that love might be just be like a quick ride on an angry bull: probably worth a try, even if you get hurt.