Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Chloe Kohanski is one of the artists who auditioned for The Voice Season 13.

But before Blake Shelton gets too excited when he hears her impressive vocals during a Voice blind audition, he should keep in mind that she’s not necessarily another aspiring country singer.

She hails from a band called Cumberland Blues that formed when its five members were looking to become involved in the 2013 International Blues Challenge.

More recently, she’s performed with former Cumberland Blues member Grant Smith as Grant & Chloe.

Grant grew up playing bluegrass. Chloe prefers rock and blues. Together, they call their music psych-folk.

Oh, and they have plenty of original music you can check out.

Chloe was lead vocalist for Cumberland Blue, which wound up representing Nashville in the 2013 and 2014 International Blues Challenge. The band also released a six-track EP called “Awakening” in 2014.

Grant & Chloe then released their own music, a 10-track album called “Volume One” that you’ll find only on bandcamp.com at the moment.

Heading there’s worth the time. The album, released last summer, features “Was Loving Me Hard to Do” and “Lover’s Bed.”

In a Facebook bio piece on Cumberland Blue, Chloe said she’s been singing since age 5 and was raised on contemporary Christian music.

“I knew nothing else until I got into this band,” she said at the time. “I had really never really listened to blues. Once I heard it I was, ‘What is this beautiful music that I can actually sing?’ because I have a lower register singing voice.

“I started diving in and my musical influences over the last two years would be Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Anne Wilson and Susan Tedeschi.”

Cumberland Blue also covered lots of popular songs, and I’ve embedded two of those covers below. Just listen to Chloe as she tackles tunes made famous by Dolly Parton and Stevie Nicks.

Instagram
Twitter: @ChloeKohanski
YouTube
Facebook

The Voice has done it again, rounding up an impressive array of talent for Season 13. Keep checking back for more profiles of the contestants we’ll meet when the blind auditions begin Sept. 25 on NBC. And for complete coverage of The Voice once Season 13 begins.