Musically and thematically diverse and confident, it is obvious Alex Winston’s music is influenced by a plethora of artists that she has loved and studied from childhood. And, being from Detroit, it’s no surprise Winston lists many Motown artists amongst her many influences.


Though trained in opera from a young age, the now 25-year-old eventually gravitated towards songwriting as a creative outlet, finding the rules of Opera limiting. Already a multi instrumentalist, In 2010, Winston moved to New York to continue pursuing her career and work with talented production duo The Knocks (Chromeo, Ellie Goulding). The year also brought Winston’s next release, a collection of smartly curated covers of the likes of Chuck Berry (whom she once opened for), The Rolling Stones, and Mumford & Sons among others, simply titled The Basement Covers EP. The project may have furthered Winston’s skill at combining unique sounds into an interesting new blend that takes the best of everything.


The Basement Covers release was quickly followed by the singles, “Choice Notes” and “Locomotive,” which appeared on 2011’s Sister Wife EP, which became the base for Winston’s first full length album, King Con, which was produced by Charlie Hugall (Florence and the Machine, Dry The River, Ed Sheeran) Winston released King Con early in 2012 and received solid reviews for her songwriting sense and uncanny ability to craft melodies that float into your brain and stay there.


Photo credit: Shervin Lainez