Somerville’s Rhodes possesses the kind of voice that transcends time and place, reminiscent of smooth ’60s soul crooners with a dash of the ragged howl heard in Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard. So it’s fitting that the former ice-cream parlor scooper recorded her debut album at Muscle Shoals’ FAME Studios, where the likes of Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding once sang. That fiery 2016 debut, Bound to Meet the Devil, was a hell of an entrance to the music world, earning the singer/ songwriter four Boston Music Award noms and one win for Best New Artist this winter—after just one year as a working musician. This April, Rhodes released a recording of James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind,” a bluesy gut-kicker of a cover that has us looking out for a forthcoming sophomore record.
Julie Rhodes
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