KEN POMEROY’S NEW ALBUM CRUEL JOKE OUT TODAY VIA ROUNDER RECORDS

SELECT HEADLINE SHOWS CONFIRMED, PLUS DATES SUPPORTING IRON & WINE, I’M WITH HER AND TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS

May 16, 2025—Rising American folk singer, songwriter and musician Ken Pomeroy’s anticipated new album, Cruel Joke, is out today—her first in partnership with Rounder Records. Stream/purchase HERE.

In celebration of the release, Pomeroy recently sat down with The Line of Best Fit and Rolling Stone to discuss the project, which is already receiving critical acclaim:

“There’s a soulfulness, a yearning, a depth to Ken Pomeroy’s music that belies her age and harks back to a bygone era”—Teen Vogue

“Some artists chase trends, but Ken Pomeroy is chasing ghosts – the half-remembered hymns of John Denver, the Oklahoma songwriters who took her in, the Cherokee stories that won’t let her go”—The Line of Best Fit

“clever guitar playing and powerful stories”—WNYC Soundcheck

“gorgeous, bare-bones country-folk…stops you in your tracks with little more than Ken’s voice and acoustic guitar”—Brooklyn Vegan

“You’ll be hard-pressed to find another songwriter in 2025 who’ll hit you with a beautiful yet devastating song like Ken Pomeroy”—Holler

“writes with an ethereal candor, allowing ache to squeeze its way into her lyricism and into the hearts of her listeners”—Nashville Scene

“poignant storytelling and a voice that carries generations of heartache”—The Austin Chronicle

“Pomeroy’s Cherokee heritage is reflected in her gift for storytelling, while her rich, expressive voice immerses listeners in elusive, melancholic tones, at once haunting and beckoning”—V13

Anchored in Pomeroy’s Native Cherokee heritage, Cruel Joke is a powerful collection that showcases her raw songwriting and engaging voice. Produced by Pomeroy’s musical partner Dakota McDaniel, Gary Paczosa (John Prine, Alison Krauss, Sierra Ferrell, Katie Pruitt) and Colton Jean, the project consists of twelve deeply personal tracks (including a collaboration with her longtime songwriting hero John Moreland) that find Pomeroy telling stories of her own self-realizations and reflections as well as observations of the world around her.

Known for her impactful live shows, Pomeroy will perform select headline dates this spring including stops at Nashville’s Row One, Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right and Tulsa’s Mercury Lounge (two nights, both sold-out). She will also join Iron & Wine, I’m With Her and Turnpike Troubadours for several dates this year and perform at Newport Folk Festival in July. See below for complete tour itinerary. Full details can be found at www.kenpomeroymusic.com/tour.

Of the album, Pomeroy shares, “Dakota and I began recording ‘Cicadas’ back in February of 2023. That marked the beginning of our long two-year journey and so much has happened since we started. The oldest song was written when I was 13 years old. The most recent one was written and added to the record only a few months ago, just before we finished recording. For almost two years, we dedicated almost every waking moment to working on Cruel Joke.”

An Oklahoma native, Pomeroy is already receiving widespread attention and has established herself as “a new voice reviving the age-old Native Americana sound” (Teen Vogue). To date, the 22-year-old has appeared in the hit film Twisters, in which she performed a cover of “Wall of Death,” had her song, “Cicadas,” featured in Hulu’s show, Reservation Dogs, and toured alongside artists such as Lukas Nelson, Iron & Wine, American Aquarium, John Moreland and Kaitlin Butts. A skilled guitarist and versatile session musician, she has also lent her musical abilities to projects by artists such as Wilderado, Kyle Nix of the Turnpike Troubadours, J.R. Carroll and more.

For more information, please contact Krista Williams, Catherine Snead or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

CRUEL JOKE TRACK LIST
1. Pareidolia
2. Wolf In Sheep's Clothes
3. Wrango
4. Rodeo Clown
5. Coyote (feat. John Moreland)
6. Stranger
7. Dogs Die
8. Grey Skies
9. Flannel Cowboy
10. Days Getting Darker
11. Cicadas
12. Innocent Eyes

KEN POMEROY CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
May 16 /// Nashville, TN /// Row One
May 21 /// Brooklyn, NY /// Baby’s All Right
June 7 /// Tulsa, OK /// Mercury Lounge (SOLD OUT)
June 8 /// Tulsa, OK /// Mercury Lounge (SOLD OUT)
June 19-22 /// Telluride, CO /// Telluride Bluegrass Festival
June 27 /// Pendleton, OR /// Jackalope Jamboree
July 10 /// Interlochen, MI /// Interlochen Center for the Arts+
July 11 /// Cincinnati, OH /// Taft Theatre+
July 12 /// Asheville, NC /// Asheville Yards Amphitheatre+
July 13 /// Cary, NC /// Koka Booth Amphitheatre+
July 16 /// Westport, CT /// The Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts~
July 19 /// Portland, ME /// Thompson’s Point+
July 20 /// Burlington, VT /// The Green at Shelburne Museum+
July 21 /// Northampton, MA /// The Pines Theater+
July 23 /// Richmond, VA /// Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden+
July 24 /// Glenside, PA /// Keswick Theatre+
July 25 /// Lafayette, NY /// Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards+
July 26 /// Newport, RI /// Newport Folk Festival
August 29 /// La Vista, NE /// The Astro*
September 26 /// Chesterfield, MO /// The Factory

+supporting Iron & Wine and I’m With Her
~supporting I’m With Her
*supporting Turnpike Troubadours

www.kenpomeroymusic.com