Ricky Montgomery w/ Delaney Bailey

You can see Rick Montgomery at Higher Ground on Thursday night! Doors open at 7:30 and show starts at 8!

Ricky Montgomery’s music was ahead of its time — literally. Four years after the release of his debut album, and a decade after he wrote some of it, the Los Angeles native’s indie-pop has been a balm in the midst of a heavy time, comforting listeners with warm melodies and relatable lyrics. It all started in July of 2020, when a pair of singles from 2016’s Montgomery Ricky — the gently swaying “Mr Loverman” and string-soaked stunner “Line Without a Hook” — took off on TikTok. “I think because we had a really traumatizing year, these songs kind of found a moment,” Montgomery says. “Because they’re all, in their own way, about traumas in my life.”

Now, with a fan base that’s all caught up, Montgomery is sitting on a trove of new music built on this now-familiar foundation: “Mr. Loverman” pairs intense family strife with soft acoustic strums that build to a rousing sing-along chorus; “Line Without a Hook” rocks a bit heavier, with strings and power-pop riffs weaving around cathartic one-liners that speak to the jumble that is one’s coming of age. He balances melancholy with a touch of sweet humor and loads of humanity. It’s no wonder these songs have racked up more than 210M streams so far, landing simultaneously on the Spotify 200 and Spotify Viral 50 charts — a feat few artists can claim — with over 50 entries worldwide. As of early 2021, Montgomery’s catalog was picking up 15M global streams weekly.