Courtney King

When I think of the flute, I think of the score for Lord of the Rings or 80’s music. The 2019 album from Courtney King hits both feels in spades, particularly the 80’s music. These are all adeptly constructed songs, with a lot of help from fellow guitarist, Gerhard Lang, and the melodies, the arrangements, the lyrics—the flute!—are all obviously written by a musician long in her game.

They are mostly love, or almost love songs, I should say. The album opens with the song “Static,” where she sings, “my best imaginary friend / my man till the end.” “I’ll never learn to feel / nothing left of what you stole / my unending ordeal / you pull me with you to Sheol.” She knows how to speak to the brokenness that comes often from trying to love. In a brilliant metaphor in the next song, she speaks of her heart as merely a cigarette that her lover puffs on and throws away. “My cigarette heart / left empty in your flame / breathe in and breathe out / my heart is just your game.”

It’s hard to compare her music to others for me, since it’s not a genre I know much about, almost soft rock, you could say. My 80’s knowledge is limited to Duran Duran and Madonna and perhaps Depeche Mode. But you get the feel, listening to these songs, that she would have fit right in with some of the greats of that era. It’s gotten a fair share of listens on Spotify. “Cigarette Heart” even has over 100,000 listens.

It’s a hard life for a musician like Courtney, however, as the last song, “St. Louis Band Blues,” addresses. “They always say, ‘you guys kill it so why you play a room nobody’s in?’” Courtney puts in her time, regularly doing live performances during the pandemic on her Instagram, with an emphasis on her wonderful flute playing. Whether you show up or not, she’s gonna be perfecting her craft, and you’re lucky, I think, if you get to witness it.

One of my favorite songs on the album, “Close, Like a Corner,” features her flute in a beautiful, epic duet with her crystal vocals. She has a wonderful voice and great songwriting chops. In the title track, “Feel Good Swiller,” she sings again about the discontent that comes from failed love. “Plucking flowers from an early gravestone / The sharp earthy smell of ‘I shoulda known’ / they wither and fade from your acetone / Suck the smoke deep down to your bones.”

On this album, Courtney puts her heart on the line and her talent on display. At ten songs, it is a nice full experience. The words are poetry and the songs are completely original. She’s working on her next offering right now, and I’m excited to see what she’s gonna come up with. She wrote these in Germany and mixed and mastered them in Nashville, but now makes her home near DC. A stalwart participant in that music scene, perhaps you can see her live with a band in the area sometime soon. Fill out the club room in what might be the new roaring 20’s. Musicians like her deserve it. - Prism Reviews

Courtney King is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and flutist with the siren-like voice has an unforgettable sound that harks back to a classic rock vibe while placing herself distinctly in today’s milieu of empowered women artists.



Courtney has boldly embarked on an epic solo journey. Following her heart, she has released her first solo album that showcases her singing, guitar playing, songwriter chops as well as her wailing flute playing. Clearly a maverick, Courtney's album is reminiscent of Female Indie Rock icons.... but with a flute! The 10 song album spans a spectrum of colors, all unified by her sultry voice and velvet flute.



Her debut album FEEL GOOD SWILLER features a collection of songs reminiscent of early Heart and its merging of influences such as Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull with their own distinctly feminine, wistful folk and pop styling. Along with Heart, Courtney references artists that have influenced her as diverse as Paramore, Joan Jett, Jack White, Foo Fighters and Arctic Monkeys, to name a few. Fans describe her as “Jimi Hendrix on the flute” and having a style akin to “Hayley Williams meets P.J. Harvey.”



Courtney King displays incredible versatility with this album. Her voice on the quieter tracks, like "Good Intentions", is reminiscent of Sarah Mclachlan. On the harder tracks, like "Fantastic" and "Static," she has a more Alanis Morissette sound, and the guitar lends a Nirvana type undertone. But there is a fabulous variety here, and it's impossible to pigeonhole her or describe the album in as being "just like" something else; she and it are unique and the song variation, multifaceted. Courtney shows off the ethereal soft side of the flute in a few places, such as in "Close, Like in a Corner," and then you can appreciate the range from hard to soft rock to ballad as well as showcasing her Glissando head-joint.







Courtney’s background as an indie artist is as unconventional as it is audacious. Hailing from the Chicago suburbs, she received her Bachelor of Music from the prestigious DePaul University and studied flute under leading flutists Mary Stolper and Donald Peck, former principal flute of the Chicago Symphony. After marrying trumpeter Gene King, in 2001 she won an audition for the Air Force Band of Flight in Dayton, OH. Her husband joined her to audition on a whim, and they both got jobs. She played bugle for a time during basic military training and became a member of Band of Flight, playing flute for presidents, foreign dignitaries, civilians and veterans.



“I attended basic military training and learned to shoot an M-16 – just so I could play music for a living. That’s how much I love music.” Courtney says, adding, “Military bands are amazing, by the way. I also sang for the concert band, the Night Flight Jazz Ensemble, and was in another chamber group. We toured all the time.”



After having her first child as an active duty band member, King decided not to reenlist, and had two more children as a stay at home mom, while her husband continued as a musician in the Air Force. Transferring to a base near St. Louis she took her Masters in Music and became involved in the local music scene, teaching music classes and homeschooling her kids, then joining a local band as singer and flutist. The band, Slow Down Scarlett, incorporated flute into their songwriting and allowed Courtney to begin exploring free improvisation, blues, jazz and guitar effect pedals on the flute. Slow Down Scarlett gained a strong following as purveyors of “Jambalaya Rock.” The band recorded two albums and played numerous gigs around the Midwest including venues like The House of Blues in Chicago and Delmar Hall in St. Louis.




Courtney King


When her husband received orders to move to Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2017, Courtney began to find herself as a solo artist. “I had journals and things that I wrote to keep myself creating during a time when I was feeling quite isolated. Being pulled out of the busy existence and set down in the middle of a German village surrounded by green hills and the smell of cows, I got to work making music in my basement.”



With all tracks written and produced herself, Courtney intended to release the album in Germany. But she also imagined playing with her band in St. Louis. Neither was the plan, as it turned out. Her husband received orders to leave Germany early and move to Washington, DC. “And so here I am, back in the United States, two kids in public school, one still homeschooled, releasing my first album.”



Standing ovations to Courtney King for releasing such a rivetingly, creative menu of sonic splendor. This Rockin' Female Indie deserves to be seen. She is a truly gifted artist who deserves the world's attention. Courtney King is a dedicated musician and insanely talented. Courtney King needs to be heard. When given the spotlight, she commands and inspires. Courtney King is a force!



-Viviana Guzman - The Flute View

From the initial gritty distorted guitar riff to the slow pulsing beat, “Static” by the DMV’s Courtney King captivates listeners and guides them through a sultry story of deep separation and heartache. Close your eyes and be mesmerized as King’s textured vocals mysteriously croon the lyrics, layering them when needed for emphasis, while always keeping her melody on point. King’s whispering flute solo provides a moment of pause to reflect on the Static’s intensity before dropping the listener right back into thick of Static’s turmoil. As the song reaches its moving climax, the listener will feel King’s pain as she asks the departed antagonist, “you think love was a joke to me?” — love that line!
If you enjoy heavy, soulful blues, JCSC definitely recommends a listen to King’s Static! It can be found her album “Feel Good Swiller” available on her website, courtneykingmusic.com, Bandcamp, and other streaming services. Cheers! - Jackson City Social Club