South Carolina:
Cary Ann Hearst
CITY: Charleston
SONGS THAT GOT US: “Ghost of the Good Girls,” “Dust and Bones”
ON THE TUBES: MySpace, Web site, Facebook
RECORD LABEL: Unsigned
WHY HER? Singer/songwriter Cary Ann Hearst rocks a unique brand of country: a coastal variant, sea-beaten and briny, but capable of stunning tranquility. We’ll call it “salt-country.” As Hearst laments lost love (or has her guts torn up by love she hasn’t lost), the music surges and seethes between lonely mountain blues and Myrtle Beach boogie. You get the sense from her voice — a tough, tight-throated holler somewhere between Lucinda and PJ — that this girl can stand up to pretty much anything, and the test of time is the least of her concerns.
BONUS BIT! Hearst just released an album co-written by fellow South Carolinian roots wrangler Michael Trent.
