Jesse Sykes

Possessed of an open, multi-octave singing voice, Seattle-based singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes's witchy meld of Americana, psychedelia, blues, folk, and avant-jazz is a trademark. She was leader of alt-country rockers Hominy with ex-husband Jim Sykes, and co-founded Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter with songwriter/guitarist Phil Wandscher in 2000. They issued four long-players between 2003 and 2011: Reckless Burning; Oh, My Girl; Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul; and Marble Son. Sykes was invited to write lyrics for recording sessions with Sunn 0))) and Boris on the collaborative album Altar in 2006, then accompanied them on a world tour. In 2019, she joined Dave Alvin's freeform Third Mind project. Their eponymous debut appeared in 2020, followed by Third Mind 2 in 2023. In 2025, they issued Right Now!, the year Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter returned to release Forever, I've Been Being Born.