Ken Pomeroy studio session at The Current for Radio Heartland

Watch Ken Pomeroy and her band perform songs from 'Cruel Joke' and more in The Current studio Support The Current: https://support.mpr.org/youtube or hit the Thanks button You might call Oklahoma singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy a reluctant artist. “I wouldn't say that I wanted to be a singer-songwriter,” she says. “I've thought about quitting playing live so many times, but every single time, I would still be writing songs for myself.” Pomeroy just can’t help songwriting. “The easiest way I can explain it is like when you have to go to the bathroom,” she says. “You just like, ‘OK, I know that I need to, so I'm gonna go do that.’ And it normally it takes like an hour and a half, and then I have a song.” Music found Pomeroy at an early age. She liked singing and writing poetry, and when she heard John Denver’s cover of “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” she was compelled to write her own songs. “I think it just was one of the first times that music had made me feel something,” Pomeroy recalls. “I thought it was really cool that a song or a person singing a song could make me feel like that. And I wanted to do that, or at least try to do that.” Pomeroy’s latest album is 2025’s "Cruel Joke," released on Rounder Records. Coming up on August 20, Pomeroy will release "Tonight’s News," an EP of six cover songs, including Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio,” that she recorded in a day at Wilco’s studio in Chicago. In the midst of a very busy summer of touring, Pomeroy and her band were in the Twin Cities to play a show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis when they took time to stop at The Current studio to record this session with Radio Heartland’s Mike Pengra. Video Segments 00:00:05 Days Getting Darker 00:03:49 Interview with host Mike Pengra, part 1 00:09:53 Pareidolia 00:12:11 Interview with host Mike Pengra, part 2 00:16:29 Bullseye The first two songs appear on Ken Pomeroy's 2025 album, "Cruel Joke," available on @rounderrecords. Song 3 is unreleased as of this publication. Musicians Ken Pomeroy – vocals, guitar Dakota McDaniel – electric guitar Cole Holleyman – drums Ramsey Thornton – banjo, guitar, backing vocals Mike Rose – bass Credits Guest – @kenpomeroymusic Host/Producer – Mike Pengra Video – Derek Ramirez Audio – Evan Clark Graphics – Natalia Toledo Digital Producer – Luke Taylor Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RadioHeartland?sub_confirmation=1 Like/Follow: https://www.facebook.com/RadioHeartlandMPR/ https://www.instagram.com/thecurrent/ https://www.threads.net/@thecurrent #music #artistinterview