Ken Pomeroy on her latest album, 'Cruel Joke'
From
Set List
- "Pareidolia"
- "Flannel Cowboy"
- "Bound to Rain"
- "Pocket Knives"
When Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy was just a little kid, she was writing poetry and being captivated by John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
"I was, like, 6 years old, and I had my stepmom burn a CD of that song 18 times in a row," she says.
Pomeroy understood the power of songs from early on. She'd watch her father, who was also a musician, turn his repair shop into a concert venue at night.
It's not hard to see the touchstones that led to her stunning new album, Cruel Joke. It's a beautiful record that she hopes will break your heart. Pomeroy's music has been featured in the TV series Reservation Dogs and on the big screen in Twisters.
In this session, we caught up with Ken to hear more about her background, from growing up as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the influence of her grandmother to the camaraderie she found in the Oklahoma City music scene.
This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.