Kami Lyle

Born Kimberlee Howg on 7 September 1968 in Edina, Minnesota, USA, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kami Lyle spent her early years exploring the ravines and woodlands of Minnesota, later drawing on those adventures in her compositions. Following her parents’ divorce at age four, she took up the trumpet in emulation of her mother. While enrolled at Hopkins High School she became a member of the local Tex-Mex ensemble Mezcal. Her adopted stage name arose unexpectedly when, employed at a bookstore, she misplaced her own name-tag and substituted the one left by a former Iranian colleague called Kami, pairing it with her father’s given name, Lyle. In 1992 she completed her studies at the Berklee College of Music. The narrative sketches and partly autobiographical episodes that filled her first album, Blue Cinderella, earned praise for their directness and sincerity; one instance is the charming “Grocery Song,” inspired by her stint bagging groceries after first relocating to Nashville. Hugh Padgham, known for his work with Sting and XTC, shaped the album’s arrangements, prompting reviewers to compare its atmosphere to Victoria Williams, even though Lyle’s vocal delivery and phrasing remained more straightforward than that parallel implies.