Medium Build | Artist to Watch – December 2025
Hometown: self-proclaimed nomad but also Nashville, TN
Why They’re WXPN Artist Of The Month:
Did you ever wish that fridge cigarette could be a man? Well, here’s a fella called Medium Build, coming to you live, direct, and quite tender from the parking lot of the auto parts store down in Nowhere, USA! This singer-songwriter (government name: Nick Carpenter) is doing a bunch of interesting things on his newly expanded EP, takeaways. Across seven tracks, he’s playing with classic Americana instrumentation and song structures while also adding in a Fleabag level of truth-or-dare candor in the lyrics, sung with an emotional delivery that’s somewhere between heavy soul and emo. (“Ben Affleck” really gets to the essence of his daring style.) This is brave music, for sure, and only for the faint of heart insofar as the faint of heart could probably use this kind of kick.
You Might Know Them From: Most recently, MB joined fellow Nashville-based singer/songwriter Sydney Rose for a cover of Charli XCX’s hit song “Sympathy is a Knife” for the All Things Go 10th Anniversary Benefit Compilation; he’s also played Coachella, and scored a nomination last year for Emerging Act of the Year at the 24th Annual Americana Honors & Awards. Medium Build also saw extensive praise over the summer for the new singles “Last Time” and “Drug Dealer.”
Fun Fact: He was once scenemates with Julien Baker. His old band, Little Moses, was part of a Tennessee indie music scene that included Julien Baker’s pre-fame band the Star Killers. Carpenter and Baker perform together on the song “Yoke” on his recent Marietta EP.
Essential Tracks: “Balance” “Ben Affleck”
Catch Them Live: No tour dates have been announced in front of the new Takeaways EP, but keep your eyes peeled; MB’s a road dog who’s got “summer tour” written all over him.