If It Doesn't [Casablanca]

While Kelsey Wilson never thought she would be a professional musician, life had other plans. In the early 2010s, Wilson found momentum as the lead vocalist and violinist of the Austin-based Americana outfit Wild Child. “I was writing songs with someone who played the ukulele, so I realized that I could fit melodies and words over the chords he was playing and it was really easy.” Throughout their 14-year tenure, the group released five albums and has toured with artists like Mt. Joy, Robert Ellis and Shakey Graves. Because it was “easy,” Wilson believed that she was supposed to be making folk music. After all, the band has found moderate success over the years, from movie and TV show placements to commercial jingles. But the music didn’t feel “authentic” to Wilson. “I wasn't being my genuine self,” she says. Still, she didn’t know what kind of music she would make if she was in complete control. In 2018, the year before lockdown, she penned what would be the first Sir Woman record — several songs that didn’t quite fit in the Wild Child world. At the time, she didn’t intend to create a band or touring the record. “I just wanted to make an album that sounded like me entirely.”