Blake Mills

Blake Mills is a California-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer whose work has moved easily between his own records and a wide range of collaborations. Born Blake Mathew Simon Mills on September 21, 1986, he has built a career around detailed guitar playing, songcraft, and production work, while also releasing four solo albums.

Mills made his solo debut with Break Mirrors, released in 2010. His second album, Heigh Ho, followed in 2014 and was recorded at Ocean Way Studios. The record drew on a changing group of musicians, including Jim Keltner, Don Was, Jon Brion, Benmont Tench, Rob Moose, Mike Elizondo, and Fiona Apple. Apple duets with Mills on “Seven” and “Don’t Tell Our Friends About Me.” Mills has described the album’s aims as bringing together songs, sound, and performance.

Alongside his own songwriting, Mills has become widely sought after for guitar and production work. His production and playing credits include recordings by Fiona Apple, Perfume Genius, Bob Dylan, Feist, Jack Johnson, Marcus Mumford, Laura Marling, Weyes Blood, John Legend, Alabama Shakes, Beck, Conor Oberst, and Bruce Hornsby. He has also worked as a session musician and sideman with artists including Cass McCombs, Jackson Browne, Moses Sumney, Neil Diamond, and Billy Gibbons.

Mills has toured with Fiona Apple as well as Lucinda Williams, Band of Horses, and Jenny Lewis. His instrumental work extends beyond acoustic and electric guitar to slide guitar, pedal steel, bass, mandolin, keyboards, percussion, and other instruments. Across solo releases, touring, sessions, and production, he has maintained a career that links singer-songwriter material with ensemble-focused studio work.