Kam Franklin of THE SUFFERS Releases Solo Debut LP LAND OF THE NEON SUN
The 12-track record includes additional production by Bhi Bhiman and a Houston release party at The Secret Group.
The Suffers frontwoman Kam Franklin has released her solo debut album Land of the Neon Sun. Co-produced by Franklin with Margo Price, with additional production by Bhi Bhiman, and featuring collaborations with Kevin Morby and Jackie Venson, Land of the Neon Sun is a 12-song joyride that embraces experimentation, individuality and vulnerability.
The album features early singles 'I Got a Lover,' 'A Heathen's Hymn,' and 'Didn't I' (feat. Kevin Morby). This is a 12-song snapshot of an artist who's learned to lean into her perspective instead of contorting it into what anybody else has in mind. Track after track, Franklin subverts expectations. Her voice--a rolling Southern gale that's a genre unto itself--anchors as the music moves through a roots smorgasbord of growling guitars, psychedelic gospel and sparse folk.
For this labor of love and creative freedom, Franklin had saved her own money for years, then launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the record. As the hard-driving, heart-pounding frontwoman of Houston band The Suffers, she has won over folks like David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel, everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and NPR's Tiny Desk. Three albums and thousands of shows later, The Suffers are currently at work on their fourth record.
As a solo artist, Franklin's collaborations have cemented her reputation as an artist's artist, fearless political activist and invigorating creative partner. She contributed her signature vocals to the 2026 Grammy-winning Clifton Chenier project, A Tribute to the King of Zydeco. In 2022, she founded the Bayou City Comeback Chorus, and went on to release two EPs with the group, which blend psychedelic funk and traditional choral music with gutsy panache. In 2021, she joined Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, Price, Yola, and more as part of Allison Russell's 'Once and Future' sounds on the Newport mainstage. In 2018, she released a single with Grammy-winning Tejano legends La Mafia. The previous year, she sang with the Houston Symphony, and in 2016, she performed in the March For Science band alongside Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Questlove, Judith Hill, and Fred Wesley. She is a frequent panelist at festivals and on podcasts, as well as an in-demand author, penning pieces on race, gender, and the arts for outlets including Vice and Forbes.
Kam Franklin Solo Tour Dates
8/28 - Houston, TX - Cactus Music
9/5 - Houston, TX - Listening Party at Artechouse
9/19 - New Orleans, LA - Chickie Wah Wah *
9/23 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle +
9/24 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Music Hall+
9/25 - Atlanta, GA - Vinyl+
10/1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Mint
10/3 - Morro Bay, CA - The Siren ^
10/4 - San Francisco, CA - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass @ Golden Gate Park
10/10 - Houston, TX - The Secret Group (House of the Neon Sun - Acoustic Performance/Q&A)
10/10 - Houston, TX - The Secret Group (Land of the Neon Sun Album Release Party)
* w/ Chloe Marie
+ w/ Son Little
^ w/ The Record Company
Tracklist
1. Land of the Neon Sun
2. We Ain't Going (feat. Jackie Venson)
3. I Got a Lover
4. Didn't I (feat. Kevin Morby)
5. God Bless Your Heart
6. Talk to You
7. Toxic
8. All I Could Give
9. A Heathen's Hymn
10. Pho for Breakfast
11. Profit Bop
12. Sunnyside, TX (feat. Bayou City Comeback Chorus)
Photo Credit: Jonathan Burgos / (
Photo Credit: Jonathan Burgos / (
