A gutsy singer and songwriter who mixes rock & roll swagger, pop songwriting, and country twang into a singular sound, Ruby Boots became a rising alt-country star in her native Australia before moving to Nashville to conquer America. Ruby Boots was born Rebecca Louise Bex Chilcott on October 20, 1981. She was born in Perth, Australia, dividing her time between her mother's and father's homes in her teens. She quit school at the age of 14, and moved out on her own when she was 16. At 19, Boots left Perth and spent several years making a living harvesting pearls. In time, she enrolled at TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Western Australia, where she studied music business. Long an amateur vocalist, Boots began writing songs as well, and in 2010 she self-released an EP simply titled Ruby Boots. Her second EP, At Last, was issued by the Walking Horse label in 2011, the same year that Boots was named Best Country Music Act at the Western Australian Music Industry Awards -- an honor she received each year until 2015.

After another independent EP, Boots landed a record deal with the Australian branch of the roots rock imprint Lost Highway Records, which issued her first full-length album, 2015's Solitude, featuring guest vocals from Vikki Thorn of the Waifs. Solitude was a major critical success in Australia, and in 2016 Boots pulled up stakes and moved to the United States, settling in Nashville, Tennessee, eager to find a home full of working musicians. In 2017, Boots signed a new record deal with Island Records for Australia and New Zealand, while inking with the respected "insurgent country" label Bloodshot Records for North America and Western Europe. Her second full-length album, Don't Talk About It, was recorded in Dallas, Texas with the Texas Gentlemen backing her up; it was released by Bloodshot in February 2018. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi