Slaid Cleeves is an Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter whose plainspoken, deeply felt songs have earned him a devoted following over three decades of recording and touring. Born in South Berwick, Maine, and raised in New England, Cleeves found his musical home in Texas, where the storytelling traditions of country and folk music gave shape to his unflinching portraits of working-class life, love, and loss.
Since releasing his debut album in 1997, Cleeves has built a catalog of critically acclaimed records including Broke Down, Wishbones, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, and Sorrow and Smoke: Live at the Hole in the Wall. His songs have been covered by artists across the Americana spectrum, and he has shared stages with legends including Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Nanci Griffith.
Known for his understated delivery and literary precision, Cleeves writes songs that linger long after the last note fades — honest dispatches from the margins of American life, delivered with quiet conviction and hard-won grace.