Candi Carpenter (they/them) is a 6,665 year old extraterrestrial vampire space witch AND recording artist, declared by Dolly Parton herself as “one of the greatest singer/songwriters I’ve ever heard, bar none.” An openly queer and autistic artist, Candi’s viral brand of confessional existentialism has swept across their corner of the internet, with multiple videos reaching tens of millions of views.

Candi's story is already a wild one... a childhood spent touring with their family gospel band, then quitting high school at 15 for 3 AM nights on Nashville's honky tonk stages.  Escaping the captivity of an abusive manager, and then a terrible marriage -- it was already a lifetime's worth of music material, with all the grit, the songwriting talent, and the powerhouse voice to go with it.

Yet Candi's human experience was expanding, all while their deeply religious upbringing was steadily deconstructing.  Their self-compassion was enhanced thanks to therapy and an autism diagnosis, and in 2023 they first publicly identified as non-binary.  They had also long been craving greater creative control, as shown in their collaboration with Grammy-winner Brandi Carlile, who encouraged Candi to take the artistic risks of true authenticity, producing their solo debut, When The Asteroid Comes.  “Candi has a story to tell and a voice that is honestly out of this world” - Brandi Carlile.

With an emotional live show and new material out this year, Candi Carpenter is the viral sensation that Nashville can't keep a secret for much longer.

Full acoustic set at NaNoCon on Saturday evening following the Dinner afterparty  (the show is free with your NaNoCon pass!)

What if Jesus came back years ago
And this is hell and we don’t know
That’s where we’ve been?

Oh, and what if the dinosaurs
Really died of hate and holy wars
And we’re no better than them?

Do I serve a greater purpose?
Or am I just nervous
I’m gonna disappear when I die?

All I know is
I will never know why

(excerpt - but the whole damn song is brilliant)