Meiko

Meiko's songs find common ground between indie pop and coffeehouse folk as her distinctive alto vocals share the spotlight alongside acoustic guitars, pianos, and unique arrangements. A longtime songwriter, Meiko was raised in the small town of Roberta, Georgia, where she discovered her love for public performance after singing at a Southern Baptist church. She then took up the guitar, playing her father's Gibson before receiving her own instrument as a birthday present. At the age of 18, Meiko left home for greener pastures, eventually resettling in Los Angeles and scheduling recurring performances at the Hotel Café, a popular haven for L.A.-based singer/songwriters.
Meiko's self-titled album appeared in September 2007. Eventually, every track on the album would find song placement in such high-profile TV shows as Grey's Anatomy. She soon found herself receiving a considerable amount of attention on the digital folk music charts. Boosted by her Internet popularity, Meiko signed a contract with MySpace Records/DGC in June 2008, and a re-release of her endearing debut album followed in September. Amid a campaign of Internet videos and promotion, the follow-up album The Bright Side arrived in May of 2012.
In 2014, Meiko unveiled a moodier, bass-heavy sound with her third full-length album, the Jimmy Messer-produced Dear You on Fantasy Records. The Fantasy-issued Lovers & Fighters EP from early 2015 was followed in October of that year by a self-released EP, Live Songs from the Hotel Cafe, which featured live renditions of several fan favorites as well as a new song called "Perfect Fit." Finding further success without a label, Meiko issued her fourth LP, Moving Day, in the summer of 2016, which reached number nine on Billboard's Heatseekers chart while also cracking the Top 200. A covers LP, Playing Favorites, arrived two years later and featured re-imagined versions of hits by the Cranberries, Otis Redding, Erykah Badu, Duran Duran, Rick James, and more. In 2019, she released her fifth album of all-original material, In Your Dreams, which she recorded in Nashville with producer and ex-Lone Bellow drummer Justin Glasco. ~ Andrew Leahey