Melissa Carper^US

Listening to an album by Arkansas-based singer and double bassist Melissa Carper, it's easy to think someone has revived an old jukebox full of old jazz, country swing and honky-tonk music. 

With a voice reminiscent of Billie Holiday's croon and a sense of musical storytelling that has led critics to compare her to Loretta Lynn, she offers a true tour de force of vintage Americana. Ramblin' Soul is the title of her latest album from 2022, and indeed she comes across as a musical drifter, taking audiences down the dusty roads of American music, meandering between smoky jazz bars and yearning country twang. 

Carper, who also performs in trios like The Carper Family and Wonder Women of Country, has a deep love for her musical roots. However, she is no nostalgic and uses them as a starting point to tell stories relevant to our time with a subversive, humorous and queer look at the templates of traditional music. 

On stage, with her swinging bass and strong voice, she is an incredibly charming musical communicator whose authentic songs call for laughter, tears and solid boot stomping, and she is ready to give Roskilde an extraordinary concert experience.