Alex Dupree is a published poet and songwriter living in Austin, TX. In the mid 00s, he founded the Trapdoor Band, an improvisatory folk group and vehicle for his lyric-driven songwriting. He released three albums under that name before switching to the Idyl moniker in 2009. During this time, he also played guitar in Zookeeper, the new folk-rock project of Austin emo pioneer Chris Simpson (Mineral, The Gloria Record, Mountain Time).

After two more albums as Idyl, Dupree moved to California to focus on poetry, studying and teaching at UC Irvine, with songwriting never far from his mind. He continued to hone his craft writing country songs for the LA band Mister Paradise and a duet project with Whitney Mower (They/Live) called Dawn & Dupree. Despite a deep love for country music, Dupree’s songs never quite settle in that category though, absorbing additional influences from the likes of Laurie Anderson, Arthur Russell, Bjork, and John Cale.

2017’s You Winsome, You Lonesome was the first album Alex Dupree released under his own name. It’s a sturdy songwriter’s album with heady, heavy doses of indie rock and country flourishes that drew comparisons to both Bill Callahan and Willie Nelson. His latest project is the upcoming Thieves, produced by Michael Krassner (Califone, Simon Joyner, Boxhead Ensemble), which features a cast of LA musicians such as Max Knouse and Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, Mavis Staples) alongside Trapdoor Band regulars like Aisha Burns and Matt Matherne.

His forthcoming album Thieves finds Dupree returning to the root of his fascination with folk ballads to deliver songs of deep mystery and timeless storytelling. Keeled Scales will be releasing the new LP in 2022 and reissuing You Winsome, You Lonesome across all physical formats and streaming platforms.