Loose Cattle

Michael Cerveris and Kimberly Kaye met across a microphone in 2008. Their relationship began as a professional one that turned romantic, then musical, then friendly after they split. The kind of unflinching honesty that made those relationship changes possible is woven into the fabric of their music. “It was hard times. And because therapy was damned expensive, we thought if we spent more time singing in the living room, there'd be less time for fighting,” says Kaye. Their shared affection for the musical and emotional rough and tumble of Johnny Cash’s duets with June Carter Cash, crossed with X’s John Doe and Exene, gave Loose Cattle its aesthetic. Cerveris is a West Virginia native and two-time Tony Award-winning actor (recently starring in Amazon’s The Tick, Fox’s Gotham, and HBO’s Mosaic) who served as a sideman for Husker Du frontman Bob Mould before launching his own music career. Kaye cut her teeth on the road, traveling the Warped Tour circuit as a member of a ska band before shifting her attention to roots music. Loose Cattle nods to their punky pasts while also showcasing their often-poignant punch as an alt-country band. According to Cerveris, “There’s something about having a clear-eyed, borderline cynical eye on the world while dancing a country waltz with a big old heart on your sleeve that is the place where this band lives.”

Photo Credit: Jacob Blickenstaff/Courtesy of the artist