Buck Meek (born Alexander Buckley Meek, July 10, 1987) is an American musician from

Wimberley, Texas Wimberley is a village in Hays County, Texas, United States. It is still predominantly a ranching area outside of town. The population was 2,839 at the 2020 census. History Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in ...

, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of

Big Thief Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's debut ...

Early life

Meek was raised in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and was introduced to the guitar at a young age, playing blues and folk at local venues in his youth. Similarly to the other members of Big Thief, Meek attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, but he did not form a band with his future bandmates until after they had graduated. After Berklee, Meek moved to New York City,

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

at the 14th Street-Union Square and

Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue (Brooklyn), Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Sheepshead Ba ...

subway stations to pay his rent.

Career

In 2014, Meek released two EPs with

Adrianne Lenker Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker (born July 9, 1991) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of Big Thief. Early life Lenker was born in Indianapolis and was raised in a Christian cult until the age ...

, ''a-sides'' and ''b-sides.'' The following year Meek formed Big Thief with Lenker and Max Oleartchik after they met Oleartchik in Bushwick, Brooklyn, recognising him from Berklee College. Meek has recorded five studio albums with Big Thief to critical acclaim. Their 2019 album ''

U.F.O.F. ''U.F.O.F.'' is the third studio album by the American band Big Thief, released through 4AD on May 3, 2019. The album was recorded in June 2018 at Bear Creek Studio, a secluded studio with lush nature surroundings in Woodinville, Washington. The ...

'' was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

. Meek released an eponymous debut solo album in May 2018, and '' Two Saviors'' in January 2021. ''Two Saviors'' was recorded at the corner of Royal and Desire in New Orleans, LA alongside producer Andrew Sarlo, who also worked on all of Big Thief's studio albums. Meek appeared in the Alma Har'el-directed

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

concert film '' Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan'', which debuted on Veeps.com on July 18, 2021.

Personal life

Meek and bandmate Adrianne Lenker married after they met in New York. The couple divorced in 2018.

Discography

Solo

;Studio albums * ''Buck Meek'' (Keeled Scales, 2018) * '' Two Saviors'' (Keeled Scales, 2021) * ''Haunted Mountain'' ( 4AD, 2023) ;EPs * ''a-sides'' (with Adrianne Lenker;

Saddle Creek Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

, 2014) * ''b-sides'' (with Adrianne Lenker; Saddle Creek, 2014)

With Big Thief

* ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'' (Saddle Creek, 2016) * '' Capacity'' (Saddle Creek, 2017) * ''

'' ( 4AD, 2019) * '' Two Hands'' (4AD, 2019) * ''

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You ''Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You'' is the fifth studio album by the American band Big Thief, released as a double album through 4AD on February 11, 2022. Produced by drummer James Krivchenia, the album features 20 songs which were re ...

'' (4AD, 2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Buck Living people American male singer-songwriters Berklee College of Music alumni Guitarists from Texas 1987 births Big Thief members Singer-songwriters from Texas