Fronted by its eponymous singer-songwriter-producer-vocalist, the Portland-based Ruby Friedman Orchestra garnered universal acclaim for its 2025 album Chimes After Midnight. Music Connection wrote that Friedman’s sophomore collection was “…worth the wait. The album showcases Friedman’s alt-Americana beautifully.” Goldmine called it “one of the best albums of the year.” Willamette Week raved, “It’s a knockout.” Americana UK logged a 9.0 rating for the work, noting that the orchestral modern blues, jazz, and gothic Americana “come together to make poetic sense in Friedman’s capable hands.” And LA Weekly called Friedman “a real-deal soul stompstress…[and] a great actor and novelist combined, nuanced, deeply layered, complex as hell and funny, too.”