Five Musicians of Note

I had so much fun reading what everyone else was in the middle of reading, I thought I'd share five musicians that have recently worked their way into my rotation that others may not be familiar with.

Caitlin Cary
Caitlin Cary was formerly with alt-country Whiskeytown until the band broke up and she headed out on her own. Cary's musical range is wide and impressive, hopping from rock to soul to country with aplomb. Guests on her albums include Mary Chapin Carpenter, Don Dixon, Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed, Mitch Easter and Thad Cockrell.
Listen to Thick Walls Down via caitlincary.com

Sarah Harmer
Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer crafts intricate emotional landscapes scored with guitar, cello and clarinet. She was the lead singer of Weeping Tile and has worked with Rheostatics, Bruce Cockburn, Skydiggers, The Tragically Hip and The Weakerthans. Harmer's songs are more pop/folk than alt-country, and eminently sing-along-to-able.
Listen to Sarah Harmer via The Hype Machine

Bettie Serveert
Dutch band Bettie Serveert is comprised of Carol Van Dijk, Peter Visser, Herman Bunskoeke and Berend Dubbe. I first heard the group doing a set on The Current in the Twin Cities, and the acoustic version of Dreamaniacs blew me away.
Squarely in the rock category; check their cover of Dylan's I'll Keep it with Mine on the I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack.
Listen to Bettie Serveert on their MySpace page.

Mike Doughty
Forget beer... Mike Doughty is proof God loves us. Former frontman of Soul Coughing, Doughty is making music that, if anything, is even better than his former band. Love his voice or hate it, his songs are lyrically surreal and musically catchy. Doughty opens for Barenaked Ladies on their tour this fall.
Listen to Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well from mikedoughty.com

Rilo Kiley
The enigmatically named Rilo Kiley is a group based out of Los Angeles fronted by two former child actors: Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett. Lewis also sang backup on many songs by The Postal Service. The band is known for their energetic rock, dense lyrics and enthusiastic performances.
Listen to Portions of Foxes (and many more) at Rilo Kiley