Kurt Vile

The American indie-rock artist Kurt Vile began his career as the lead guitarist and co-founder of War on Drugs, then launched a successful solo career in 2008. Born on January 3, 1980, in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, he began playing banjo and making his own recordings as a teenager. He later joined the War on Drugs in 2005 and contributed heavily to the band's debut, Wagonwheel Blues (2008), before quitting the band that same year to develop his solo career. His debut solo record, Constant Hitmaker, was released on Gulcher Records and comprised lo-fi home recordings recorded between 2003 and 2007. The LP earned him kudos as an indie-folk songwriter and paved the way for the follow-up effort God Is Saying This To You... (2009), which was released on Mexican Summer as a limited vinyl release. He moved to Matador for his third album, Childish Prodigy (2009), and remained there for 2011's Smoke Ring for My Halo and 2013's Wakin on a Pretty Daze. The latter album made it to Number 47 on the US Billboard 200 and 41 on the UK Albums Chart, and Vile maintained his momentum with 2015's B'lieve I'm Goin' Down..., whose single "Pretty Pimpin" reached Number 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in America. His eighth studio album, Bottle It In, landed in 2018, and his ninth album, Watch My Moves, emerged in 2022, featuring the Top 40 single "Like Exploding Stones."