Lindi Ortega/Brett Detar

Since moving from Toronto to Nashville, singer Lindi Ortega has clearly embraced the Music City sound. Last year’s Cigarettes & Truckstops is a terrific collection of drinking songs and murder ballads. Ortega has a powerful voice that’s perfectly suited to moody tunes like the bluesy “Murder of Crows” and the smoldering “Heaven Has No Vacancy.” Her latest album, Tin Star, is another terrific collection of twangy tunes. She recalls Neko Case as she croons, "love shouldn't be so hard" on the opening track "Hard As This." She sounds a bit tougher on this outing too, singing "I Want You" with a real sense of desperation. A star in the making, Ortega, who had a guest stint on the ABC hit Nashville, is finally headlining after opening stints with Social Distortion, Dierks Bentley and James Vincent McMorrow. (Niesel)