Ken Pomeroy, Ramsey Thornton

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.

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.

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.