Kevin Bronson on October 6th, 2009

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There’s no shortage of aspiring divas these days (judging from the volume of e-mail exhortartions), but singer-songwriter Audra Mae has to rank as one of the most compelling young voices out there. The Oklahoma-reared, Los Angeles-based songstress is an old soul in a young package, with voice that inspires the likes of me to name-check the likes of Patsy Cline, Melissa Etheridge and Dolly Parton and a sound that seems to fit in the First Assembly of the Soulful Twang. She earned some traction when her cover of “Forever Young” was placed in the TV show “Sons of Anarchy,” and this summer she signed to L.A.-based indie SideOneDummy Records. She’ll release a digital EP, “Haunt,” on Oct. 20 (a full-length is planned for 2010), then hit the road as part of Chuck Ragan’s Revival Tour. Trivia: She’s Judy Garland’s grand-niece.

||| Download: “The River”

||| Live: Audra Mae performs as part of the Revival Tour on Nov. 7 at the El Rey Theatre.

Photo by Piper Ferguson