Kurt Vile

Erstwhile guitarist for glacially cool rock act War On Drugs, Philadelphia-based musician Kurt Vile began his solo career in 2008 and signed to the stalwart indie label Matador Records shortly after. With his gritty, emotive vocals, crooned over meandering folk tinged instrumentals, Vile has been slow to catch on with a wide audience, but has been hailed by critics and music connoisseurs as one of the better new musicians to come about in recent memory. Vile is known to perform with his backing band The Violators, and occasionally is accompanied by legends like Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.