Christian Lee Hutson

Christian Lee Hutson (born November 5, 1990) is an American singer, musician and songwriter.^[2] He began his career as a member of The Driftwood Singers,^[3] before signing to ANTI- as a solo artist in 2019.^[4] He has released three full-length albums: Beginners (2020), Quitters (2022) and Paradise Pop. 10 (2024). The records were co-produced by his friend and fellow musician, Phoebe Bridgers.^[5]

In addition to his collaborations with Bridgers, Hutson is known for co-writing and performing songs with Samia,^[6] Marshall Vore,^[7] Whitmer Thomas,^[8] Conor Oberst, and Ethan Gruska.^[7]

Hutson was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 5, 1990.^[9] He moved to Los Angeles at the age of five;^[10] shortly after his mother remarried. According to a 2020 Under the Radar profile, he attended a fundamentalist Christian elementary school.^[11] He began playing guitar at 12.^[11] The first song he learned to play was Elizabeth Cotten’s ‘Freight Train’.^[11] His earliest attempts at songwriting were influenced by vintage country records in his father’s record collection, including some Hank Williams albums.^[10]

As a teenager, Hutson enjoyed the music of John Prine, Bright Eyes, and Elliott Smith.^[10] He dropped out of high school to pursue a musical career, against his parents wishes.^[11] Hutson’s adolescent experiences later inspired the lyrics of ‘Northsiders’ and ‘Seven Lakes’,^[12][10] which are on his 2020 album Beginners.

Before embarking on a solo career, Hutson performed with Pearl Charles in The Driftwood Singers.^[3] According to a January 2011 Amarillo Globe-News article, The Driftwood Singers have “an affinity and talent for the traditional country folk sound”.^[13] They began as an eight-piece ensemble, composed of students from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, before becoming a duo.^[13]

Hutson and Charles released their first EP, Look!, in November 2011.^[13] The Driftwood Singers released a single, 'I Don't Live Here Anymore' and a self-titled album in 2012.^[14] By February 2013, Hutson and Charles had ended their musical partnership.^[15]

Hutson recorded his debut EP, We Will Never Break Up, in 2012.^[16] His first solo album, The Hell With It, was released on the independent label Trailer Fire Records in 2013.^[3] Trailer Fire Records also released Hutson’s sophomore solo record, Yeah Okay, I Know, in 2014.^[3] The album was produced by David Mayfield, who was nominated for an Grammy Award.^[16] It spawned numerous singles including ‘They’re Gonna Hate Me’, ‘Dirty Little Cheat’, and ‘Mess’.^[17] As with The Hell With It, Yeah Okay, I Know was not widely reviewed and is not available on streaming services.

Hutson was introduced to Phoebe Bridgers by her touring guitarist, Harrison Whitford, in 2018.^[12] Hutson has since co-written many songs on three projects featuring Bridgers – boygenius (2018), Better Oblivion Community Center (2019), and Punisher (2020).^[18][19] He supported Bridgers on her 2019 world tour^[11] and also opened for boygenius’ on their 2019 European tour.^[11] Hutson performed as a touring guitarist for Jenny Lewis during that time,^[20] in addition to supporting Julia Jacklin, a singer from New South Wales, Australia and a band, Okkervil River.^[11]

Hutson was signed to ANTI– in 2019.^[4] He released his first studio album, Beginners, on May 29, 2020.^[4] Beginners was named after the Raymond Carver short story cycle with the same name.^[21] Maeri Ferguson of No Depression said it has “a spare and quiet collection of songs about the tenderness of adolescence, first love, heartbreak and the value of having a little perspective”.^[22] It was preceded by the single ‘Northsiders’.^[3] Beginners was produced by Phoebe Bridgers.^[12] Prior to the recording sessions with Bridgers, four versions of Beginners were completed.^[10] The first version featured the band Dawes and Dash Hutton, a former drummer for the band Haim, and it was recorded in 2015.^[10] The third version was produced by Ethan Gruska, who previously collaborated with Fiona Apple and Blake Mills from Malibu, California.^[10] Meanwhile, the second and fourth versions were produced by unknown parties and failed to gain traction.^[10]

The final version of Beginners features contributions from Lucy Dacus, Conor Oberst, and Meg Duffy of Hand Habits.^[21] It was well-received by critics; earning a score of 7.8 from Pitchfork,^[19] alongside a Metascore of 75 signaling ‘mostly positive reviews’.^[23] Hutson released three EPs between 2020 and 2021, collectively known as ‘The Version Suicides’.^[24] The three volumes contain contributions from musicians including Shamir, Fenne Lily, and Julia Jacklin, and have a combination of humorous and sincere covers.^[24] Liz Phair’s ‘Why Can’t I?’, Taylor Swift’s ‘betty’, and The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ are among the songs Hutson has covered.^[24]

In 2021, Hutson was featured on Saving for a Custom Van, a compilation and tribute to music by the late Adam Schlesinger. Huston performed "Red Dragon Tattoo", a song by the Fountains of Wayne. Before the release of Quitters in 2022, he performed on projects released by Hand Habits, Ada Lea from Montreal, Canada, Whitmer Thomas, and Sasami.^[8]

Hutson began writing Quitters, his second album to be released via ANTI-, during the COVID-19 quarantine.^[25] The record was produced by Bridgers and Conor Oberst and eventually released on April 1, 2022.^[26] Quitters was preceded by the lead single ‘Rubberneckers’, co-written by Alex Lahey.^[27] Two more singles, ‘Age Difference’ and ‘Strawberry Lemonade’, were released in support of the album.^[28]

Hutson said Quitters lyrically touches on “adult experiences and changes and trying to become okay with yourself”.^[7] The LP draws from numerous influences including Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola; The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan, and the Paolo Sorrentino film Youth.^[7] Quitters was recorded directly to analog tape, rather than digitally to add warmth to the arrangements.^[29]

Like its predecessor, Quitters was reviewed by music publications including Pitchfork and The Line of Best Fit.^[26][30] Pitchfork gave the album a rating of 7.5.^[26] It received a 74 Metascore suggesting ‘generally favorable reviews’.^[31] Between 2022 and 2023, Hutson opened for Phoebe Bridgers on her international Reunion Tour.^[32]

Rolling Stone said that Hutson’s music is a combination of “folk”, “Americana” and “retro-country”.^[10] Hutson cites Elliott Smith, Hank Williams, Gillian Welch,^[10] Randy Newman^[33] and John Prine as being his influences.^[10]

Hutson plays acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle.^[13] His early recordings possess a DIY or lo-fi quality;^[10] Bridgers attempted to preserve the “homespun” nature of Hutson’s original Voice Memo demos when producing Beginners.^[34] He enjoys the prose of George Saunders, Haruki Murakami, Sally Rooney,^[20] and Raymond Carver.^[21] He says that the authors have inspired his songwriting.^[20]

Hutson was married to Sharon Silva, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter. Since 2023, he has been in a relationship with actress and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke.^[35][36] Hutson and Hawke married in New York City on February 14, 2026.^[37]

Hutson has been diagnosed with pure OCD (pure O);^[38] he said writing the Quitters song ‘OCDemon’ was a “therapeutic exercise”.^[38] In 2020, he gave free guitar lessons on Zoom in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.^[39] He has supported various bail projects throughout the U.S.^[39] He has several tattoos, one is a tribute to Hank Williams.^[12]