Rufus Wainwright

The progeny of folk heroes Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright was born into a musical family, which accounts for some of his creative restlessness. After his 1998 self-titled debut, the Canadian singer-songwriter pushed his piano pop into ever more operatic and orchestral directions, before dialing back the symphonics on 2010's <i>All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu</i>, which he recorded in the wake of his mother's death. Wainwright's latest album, <i>Out of the Game</i>, finds him in higher spirits, working with a wide cast of collaborators including producer Mark Ronson and members of Wilco, the Dap-Kings and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for his breeziest album yet.