Joanna Newsom

Renowned for alternative ideas, the fragility of her song-writing and for making the humble harp cool and sexy, Joanna Newsom is one of the unlikeliest success stories of the 2000s. Her father played guitar, her mother was a classical pianist and, as a child Newsom studied theatre and started playing piano and harp from the age of four. She studied composition and creative writing in Oakland, California and played keyboards with the band The Pleased; but after making some demo recordings she was discovered by Will Oldham, who signed her to his Drag City label and released her debut album, The Milk-Eyed Mender in 2004. A tour with Devendra Banhart accelerated her appeal as Newsom became a major cult attraction, releasing second album Ys in 2006, full of sophisticated orchestrations. Uniquely individual, her mystical music has been labelled as "psych folk" but doesn't easily fit any genre. Her self-produced third album Have One On Me - released in 2010 - was her most ambitious yet, a triple album exploring new sounds and fresh styles, which proved a critical and commercial success.