Long Live the Songwriter

Ken Pomeroy arrived to many ears, seemingly out of the blue, with her 2025 Rounder Records debut, Cruel Joke. The album, with its hushed tones and intimate nature, felt like being welcomed into a secret world: familiar but fresh, flashes of darkness filled with hope, and the kind of songwriting that opens up with repeated listens. A singer-songwriter in the purest sense, Pomeroy’s observations tap into an emotionality steeped in universal truths: longing, freedom, and the joys and heartaches of home. Hailing from Moore, Oklahoma, and now calling Tulsa home, the twenty-three-year-old was no secret to the area’s growing music community where she had been performing since she was a teenager. Drawing inspiration from fellow locals like Wilderado and John Moreland, Pomeroy’s arrival on a larger stage was not a surprise to those in the know, a culmination of years being on the stage, learning how to play guitar, carry a tune, and most importantly, write. With the release of Cruel Joke (May ’25) Pomeroy and her long-time collaborator, Dakota McDaniel, spent much of the year on tour. The two made the most of their opportunities supporting acts ranging from Iron & Wine to I’m With Her, Madison Cunningham to Flyte, Shane Smith & the Saints to American Aquarium. Appearances at Newport Folk, Telluride Bluegrass and Big Ears Festival exposed Pomeroy to a larger audience, broadening her fanbase outside of a single genre. Prior to the album’s release, Pomeroy’s song “Cicadas” was featured in Sterlin Harjo’s Reservation Dogs after the two met through the Tulsa music scene. The placement led to a “viral moment” as for many it was the first time hearing Pomeroy. Harjo then cast Pomeroy in his next series The Lowdown and featured her performing her original song “Bound to Rain” on the show. This led to an appearance on CBS Saturday Sessions with her full-band, providing an avenue to showcase Pomeroy’s range of musicality beyond folk and Americana, dipping into avant-rock and jazz moments. By year’s end, Cruel Joke had found its audience, making its way on numerous end-of-year lists with NPR’s Ann Powers calling Pomeroy a “generational talent” and Stereogum’s Marissa R. Moss & Natalie Weiner describing her writing as “gorgeously succinct lines accompanied by equally tasteful but interesting arrangements [...] her unexpected vocal choices and knack for softening the somber with a great melody makes songs [...] truly unforgettable.” 2026 finds Pomeroy completing work on her next record and touring extensively throughout North America while heading to the UK and Europe for her first dates overseas. She states: “A lot of really cool things are happening, but it hasn’t set in. I haven’t had time to bask in it. Even when I started playing music, I never thought, ‘I’m a musician. I chose this life.’ I feel like something way above me pointed at me and said, ‘Okay, here’s your path.’ And I’ve just been following it kind of blindly ever since.”