songwriter

Stream Liz and the Lovelies EP ‘BILLY’ NOW!

LIZ AND THE LOVELIES is the project of Americana singer/songwriter LIZ CHIDESTER. Originally from the mountains of Virginia, Liz moved to Chicago in 2013 by train with 4 bags and 2 guitars and immersed herself into the Chicago folk scene, releasing her debut record People Pumping Pedals in 2014 under CAU Dog Records. In 2015, she released the EP Otter Hill, an intimate recording of 5 songs about her family and home life in Virginia. She was awarded as NPR's Newsong Songwriting Competition 2014 Mid-west Finalist, Chicago Music Awards Best Female Vocalist 2015, and a New-Song Songwriter Competition Finalist in 2016.

Her music inspired the talent of close friends and family to create the Americana band LIZ AND THE LOVELIES. The Lovelies included Alex Chidester (vocals, mandolin), Mike Fletcher (bass), Lewis Rawlinson (vocals, cello), Zach Finch (drums), Ivan Pyzow (vocals, trumpet, keys), Kevin Schwarzwald (violin), and Lauren Vogel (violin, vocals).

They released their first EP Progress into Simplicity in 2017. It was nominated for Best Roots EP in the 2018 Independent Music Awards in NYC, and they competed as one of the final four bands in Brooklyn's 9th Annual Silver Sound Showdown in 2018. Their single “My Way/Your Way” was a finalist in the Folk/Americana category in the Great American Song Competition 2018.

During the pandemic, the band Liz and the Lovelies lovingly separated as Liz continued to perform solo with her cellist Lewis Rawlinson, releasing “the great american chestnut tree” in fall 2020 after it was featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered. Without the band, "the Lovelies" became Liz and her songs.

With Chicago producers Matt Griffo and Liam Davis, her 2021 singles include “Gift That Moved You”, “Whiney Whiteboy Punk Song” and “Sun Sup feat. Frances Luke Accord”. Her solo EP otherside of the darkest timeline released in late 2021.

A 10 year anniversary single “People Pumping Pedals (A Decade Down the Line)” (2023) produced by Azlo Production Studios NYC was released in 2026 to commemorate a decade of performing and releasing music. .

The EP ‘BILLY’ (2024) produced by Liz's label Murmuration Records is music from the Cabinet of Curiosity show 'The Death and Life of Billy the Kid.' It features fiddle by Alex Sovronsky and lyrics by Seth Bockley.

She moved to NYC in 2022 to form the “Latin Americana” duo project LIZ AND NILKO with her partner Colombian classical guitarist Nilko Andreas. They released their first singles “Keep Moving” and “Those Days are Gone” in 2026 and premiered them at the Your Roots Are Showing Folk Festival in Belfast, Ireland.

Liz has been writing and workshopping a new play HOWL with puppetry and music based on folk tales with feminine intuition at the center. An album of the music will be released in 2027.

Liz is a member of the Recording Academy and the Folk Alliance International. She continues to perform in her homes of NYC, Chicago, and Virginia, and across the US, South America, and Europe.