BIO

From a childhood singing in church with her dad to playing international stages, Scout Gillett has built a career out of her lifelong passion for performing. A self-taught musician, intrepid artist, and avid vinyl collector, her music combines the grit of a Midwest upbringing with the soul-filled authenticity of a lifetime of creative experimentation.

Growing up in a family of creatives in Independence, Missouri, Scout was raised on exploring the woods, disposable camera photoshoots, camcorder home movies made with her cousins, and a longstanding gig as a magician’s assistant for her older brother. She developed a deep appreciation for all things homespun and carried this sensibility into her art at a young age. In college, majoring in Music Technology with a vocal emphasis, She spent her weekends driving to Kansas City to see her friends and shows. She felt isolated in the small town of Warrensburg, MO and disappointed that no one there wanted to jam or create, ultimately, leading her to drop out in 2016 to pursue music. In 2017, at the urging of fellow musician Sharon Van Etten, she moved to Brooklyn to chase her dreams.

Once there, she jumped headfirst into the DIY scene, starting the band Shadow Year while also promoting her solo work and creating her own merch and zines. Shortly after, she founded independent touring company, Road Dog Booking, aiming to support and showcase other musicians going against the grain. In April 2022, she released her first solo EP, one to ten, a collection of four covers and one original song. The EP, inspired by a lifelong love of collecting vinyl and unearthing hidden musical gems, showcases her wide range of influences with songs from artists like Broadcast and Brenda Lee. Her acumen as a lyricist and musician are on full display, blending velvety vocals with twangy guitars, lo-fi harmonica, and dreamy pedal steel across the album and merging a variety of genres into a haunting sonic landscape.

Less than six months after the release of one to ten came her debut full-length EP, no roof no floor, issued by indie record label Captured Tracks. An intrepid and intimate exploration of trust, loss, and making a home, the album received praise from Rolling Stone, The Fader, Brooklyn Vegan, Paste and Brooklyn Magazine listed the album as one of its top 8 albums of the year. Recorded with Nick Kinsey at The Chicken Shack in a barn inupstate New York in 2020, the album features contributions from Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and David Lizmi of MS MR, Kevin Copeland of The Big Net and Nick Kinsey of Kevin Morby. The album expands on the terrain of one to ten, interpolating alt-twang and raw-edged experimental rock into something even more atmospheric and driving. With deeply vulnerable meditations on serenity and growth set against sprawling instrumental compositions, the album feels as vast and vulnerable as a country night sky.

Following up on the success of no roof no floor, Scout has kept up her tireless pace writing, recording and touring nonstop. She recently wrapped up a headlining European tour and is hard at work on her next body of work, which draws inspiration from songwriters and groups like Dwight Twiley, Mazzy Star, Gram Parsons, The Cranberries, Stereolab, PJ Harvey, Pat Benatar, and ‘early’ Alice Cooper. A departure from no roof no floor’s ghostly ballads, the upcoming leans heavily into her roots as an artist and promises an exploration of the tender sweetness and edge of angst while continuing to showcase Gillett’s mesmerizing vocals and stellar songwriting. And from there? One thing is for certain: she’s not slowing down anytime soon. As she declared “ I’ll probably be performing, creating and dreamin’ til I croak.”

BIO

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