Kam Franklin – A Heathen’s Hymn
Today, The Suffers frontwoman Kam Franklin has shared her empowering new single “A Heathen’s Hymn,” the next offering from her upcoming debut solo album Land of the Neon Sun, out August 28. Arriving with a cinematic black-and-white music video directed by Houston filmmaker Tobe Mokolo, “A Heathen’s Hymn” finds Franklin confronting her trauma head-on as it soars through a cathartic, stream-of-consciousness takedown.
Franklin on the new single: “Between the ages of 5-16, I used to go to church four to five nights a week. None of the sermons in the world could have prepared me or my nervous system for the costs that would come with being a sexual abuse survivor as a child, being overworked and underpaid as an adult, all while being a Southern Black independent female artist trying to survive in America. We all hold some sort of trauma whether we address it or not. This song is me dealing with mine, so that I get to take my power back.”
“A Heathen’s Hymn” follows the sultry lead single “I Got a Lover,” which unapologetically celebrates the freedom of surrendering to love and desire. Co-produced by Franklin with Margo Price and featuring collaborations with Kevin Morby and Jackie Venson, Land of the Neon Sun is a 12-song joyride that embraces experimentation, individuality and vulnerability. It’s a snapshot of an artist who’s learned to lean into her perspective instead of contorting it into what anybody else has in mind.
Track after track, Franklin subverts expectations. Country-tinged storytelling is followed by trippy calls to action, then subdued strings and playful electronic fillips. Her voice––a rolling Southern gale that’s a genre unto itself––anchors as the music moves through a roots smorgasbord of growling guitars, psychedelic gospel and sparse folk.
For this labor of love and creative freedom, Franklin had saved her own money for years, then launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the record. Reflecting on all the growth and work, she is excited and grateful: “This album is for anyone. I think that love, friendship, and human connection are the things that will allow us to get through. I’m really glad I’ve done this, and I’m really glad I’ve done it this way.”
As the hard-driving, heart-pounding frontwoman of Houston band The Suffers, Franklin has won over folks like David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel, everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and NPR’s Tiny Desk. Three albums and thousands of shows later, The Suffers are currently at work on their fourth record.
As a solo artist, Franklin’s collaborations have cemented her reputation as an artist’s artist, fearless political activist and invigorating creative partner. She contributed her signature vocals to the 2026 Grammy-winning Clifton Chenier project, A Tribute to the King of Zydeco. In 2022, she founded the Bayou City Comeback Chorus, and went on to release two EPs with the group, which blend psychedelic funk and traditional choral music with gutsy panache. In 2021, she joined Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, Price, Yola, and more as part of Allison Russell’s “Once and Future” sounds on the Newport mainstage. In 2018, she released a single with Grammy-winning Tejano legends La Mafia. The previous year, she sang with the Houston Symphony, and in 2016, she performed in the March For Science band alongside Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Questlove, Judith Hill, and Fred Wesley. She is a frequent panelist at festivals and on podcasts, as well as an in-demand author, penning pieces on race, gender, and the arts for outlets including Vice and Forbes.
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