Cameron Winter

Cameron Winter
Winter performing in 2024
Winter performing in 2024
Background information
Also known asChet Chomsky
Son-John Johnson
Born (2002-03-04) March 4, 2002 (age 24)
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
Labels
Member of
Websitemrcameronwinter.com

Cameron Winter (born March 4, 2002) is an American musician who serves as the frontman, lead vocalist and principal songwriter for the rock band Geese, with which he has released four studio albums and three EPs since their founding in 2016. He is also known for his solo work; his debut solo album, Heavy Metal, was released in 2024.

Early life

Winter grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, attending the Brooklyn Friends School. His mother, Molly Roden Winter is a writer, and his father Stewart Winter is a composer and co-owner of a sync library; both are Jewish.

In his adolescence, he played youth ice hockey, but had to give it up due to concussions, after which he turned to music. In high school, he formed a band, Geese, with friends from school. After high school, he applied to Boston University with the intention of pursuing a degree in communications but ultimately chose to forgo college and pursue music as a career, along with his Geese bandmates, after signing with Partisan Records in 2020.

Career

Geese

Formed in 2016 with Winter as their vocalist, keyboardist, and main songwriter, Geese has released four studio albums: A Beautiful Memory (2018), Projector (2021), 3D Country (2023), and Getting Killed (2025).

Solo work

When he was 12 years old, Winter entered the National Math Museum's 'Pi Day Song Contest' and won. After winning, his father, Stewart, uploaded the song onto Soundcloud where it can still be found.

Winter made his official solo debut in October of 2024 with two songs, "Vines" and "Take It With You", paired in a release titled Singles. On December 6, 2024, he released his debut solo album, Heavy Metal, to widespread critical acclaim. It was named one of the best debut albums of 2024 by Paste and an early entry for one of the best albums of 2025 by several publications, given its late 2024 release. Pitchfork would go on to name Heavy Metal the third best album of 2025 and its third song "Love Takes Miles" the best song of 2025. Lizzy Goodman summarized in The New York Times that Heavy Metal was "received as a tour de force ... But it has also turned Mr. Winter into the kind of artist that has fans analyzing every detail of his impressionistic lyrics and telling him his work has kept them from suicide. In other words, [it] has received the kind of response that a record earns when the artist who made it is on their way to a certain kind of highly personal stardom." Along with the release of "Heavy Metal" there was a limited edition bonus vinyl 7 inch release with two live tracks Try As I May (Live At St. John's Lutheran Church) and The Rolling Stones (Live At St. John's Lutheran Church) it was limited to 1,014 copies.

On his first solo tour, Winter became one of the youngest artists ever to headline a concert at Carnegie Hall. The concert was filmed by Paul Thomas Anderson with help from Benny Safdie. The film will have a tour of theatrical releases starting in November 2026. NME's Andrew Trendell reviewed the London leg of the tour, awarding Winter's Roundhouse show a full five stars and saying that he "has the power, talent and magnetism of a future great – a star to go the distance with just that voice, a piano and a whole world quite literally at his fingertips." On January 19, 2026 Winter played a secret charity show under the name "Chet Chomsky" at Queens venue TV Eye to provide help to families from Gaza.

On April 16, 2026, a Wired article highlighted the connection between PR company Chaotic Good Projects and "alternative" acts, in particular Cameron Winter and Geese. The piece cited a Billboard interview with Chaotic Good co-founders Jesse Coren and Andrew Spelman about their "narrative campaigns". These campaigns include creating hundreds of fake social media accounts to post positively about affiliated artists in comment sections and manipulate algorithms on social media sites such as TikTok. Winter and Geese have also reportedly employed digital marketing agency Byword for narrative campaigns as well. In response to the publishing of this piece, Chaotic Good removed mention of Cameron Winter, Geese, and narrative campaigns from their website, though co-founder Adam Tarsia confirmed to Wired later that month that they did engineer campaigns for both Cameron Winter and Geese.

Semley's article has been the source of debate, with some writers arguing that Winter's collaboration with Chaotic Good Projects isn't significant considering the breadth of popular artists that use the same kind of algorithmic manipulation described in Chaotic Good Projects' narrative campaigns.

Men of the Reef

Winter is also involved in the project Men of the Reef. He and Oliver Seda recorded an EP called Elephant Hunter that was released on September 6, 2019.

Artistry

Cameron Winter has been described as an American folk prodigy, an "aspiring Brooklyn indie rock artist", the frontman of an art rock band, a modern indie folk artist, and Alli Dempsey of Paste noted that "Winter wants us to be in on the cosmic joke that guides his life, and informs his enlightening folk rock and pragmatic, anxious songwriting."

Winter cites Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as the primary influences on his solo material. Critics have drawn further comparisons between Winter and the likes of Tom Waits, Stephen Malkmus, Jeff Mangum, Bill Callahan and Lou Reed.

Winter's voice has been praised for its range and versatility. Describing Winter's vocals on Projector, Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone said that Winter "can hoist his voice into a Thom Yorke-an falsetto, put on a posh pout à la Julian Casablancas or Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen, or lapse into a stentorian yawp that brings to mind Mark E. Smith of the Fall or Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner." Ian Blau of Rolling Stone said that Winter "shines throughout [3D Country]", where he "contorts his voice to fit any set of lyrics or musical style." When it comes to Winter's vocals on Heavy Metal, Walden Green of Pitchfork characterizes his voice as a "woozy baritone", a "versatile and tender instrument ... immediately remarkable for its sheer range and depth of tone." Fellow musician Nick Cave lauded his voice on Heavy Metal as "glorious" and "emotive".

Described as "a songwriter par excellence" by Walden Green of Pitchfork, Winter's lyrics have been noted for both their cathartic and surreal qualities. Cave described his lyrics on Heavy Metal as "brilliant" and "blistering".

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details
Heavy Metal

Live albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
 AUS
 IRE
 NZ
 UK
Live at Carnegie Hall
  • Released: October 9, 2026
  • Label: Partisan, Play It Again Sam
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
 508253920

Collaborative albums

Title Details
Help(2)

Extended plays

Title Details
Singles
  • Released: October 22, 2024
  • Label: Partisan, Play It Again Sam
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

Title Year Album
"$0" 2024 Heavy Metal

Digital-exclusive releases

Title Year Format Platform
"LSD" 2025 digital download Winter's website

Music videos

Song Year Director
"$0" 2024 Andy Swartz
"Drinking Age"
"Love Takes Miles"
"The Rolling Stones"
"Love Takes Miles" (version 2) 2025 Celia Rowlson-Hall

Men of the Reef

Title Details
Elephant Hunter
  • Released: September 6, 2019
  • Label: self-released
  • Format: digital download, streaming

Guest appearances

Song Year Other artists Album Notes
"Kill Me" 2026 Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend Credited under pseudonym "Son-John Johnson"
"I Can't Wait"

References

  1. ↑ Frick, Evelyn (December 22, 2025). "18 Things to Know About Jewish Musician Cameron Winter". Hey Alma. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Goodman, Lizzy (April 5, 2025). "On the Verge of Rock Stardom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Jonze, Tim (May 6, 2025). "'People think I've gone crazy': indie sensation Cameron Winter on leaving crowds in tears with his wild lyrics and supernatural voice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 D’Souza, Shaad (May 14, 2025). "Cameron Winter Summer". i-D. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ Currin, Grayson Haver (September 23, 2025). "Five Days with Geese, America's Most Thrilling Young Rock Band". GQ. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  6. ↑ Bonjour Chai (February 29, 2024). "What does Judaism say about polyamory?". The Canadian Jewish News.
  7. ↑ Phoebe Maltz Bovy (March 1, 2024). "Can polyamory save this marriage? Phoebe Maltz Bovy reviews the book 'More' by Molly Roden Winter". The Canadian Jewish News.
  8. 1 2 Schnipper, Matthew (May 1, 2025). "The Confessions of Cameron Winter". SSENSE. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Farber, Jim (October 27, 2021). "New York Has a New Band of Buzzy Post-Punk Teens: Geese". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  10. ↑ Olivier, Bobby (August 24, 2021). "Geese Reignites Brooklyn's Indie-Rock Hype Machine". Spin. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  11. ↑ Winter, Stewart (April 4, 2014). "Soundcloud". Soundcloud. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (October 23, 2024). "Geese frontman Cameron Winter shares debut solo singles 'Vines' and 'Take It With You'". NME. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  13. 1 2 Walker, Sophie Leigh (December 6, 2024). "Review of Heavy Metal by Cameron Winter: Geese frontman soars on debut solo record". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 Dempsey, Alli (December 19, 2024). "Cameron Winter Reckons with the Existentially Absurd on Heavy Metal". Paste.
  15. 1 2 3 Green, Walden (January 11, 2025). "Cameron Winter: Heavy Metal". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  16. ↑ Fantano, Anthony (January 30, 2025). "Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal". The Needle Drop. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  17. ↑ Black, Chris (2025-02-06). "A 22-Year-Old Who Lives With His Parents Recorded a Solo Album at Guitar Center. We Can't Stop Listening". GQ. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  18. 1 2 Hyden, Steven (February 14, 2025). "It's A Cameron Winter Winter". UPROXX. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  19. ↑ Dempsey, Alli (December 18, 2024). "The 40 Best Debut Albums of 2024". Paste. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  20. ↑ Bloom, Madison; Corcoran, Nina; Gaca, Anna; Green, Walden; Larson, Jeremy D.; Lorusso, Marissa; Sherburne, Philip (April 2, 2025). "The Best Music of 2025 So Far". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  21. ↑ Renshaw, David (June 9, 2025). "The best albums of 2025 so far". The Fader. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  22. ↑ Blistein, Jon (June 5, 2025). "The Best Albums of 2025 So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  23. ↑ Kemp, Sophie (December 2, 2025). "The 50 Best Albums of 2025". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  24. ↑ Gaca, Anna (December 1, 2025). "The 100 Best Songs of 2025". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  25. ↑ Heavy Metal (7" vinyl). Cameron Winter. New York, New York: Partisan Records. 2024. PTPS50RT2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ↑ Currin, Grayson Haver (December 12, 2025). "Inside Cameron Winter's Extremely Sold-Out Carnegie Hall Show". GQ. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ Sandiford, Kayla (December 12, 2025). "Cameron Winter's Carnegie Hall performance filmed by Paul Thomas Anderson". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  28. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (December 2, 2025). "Cameron Winter live in London: Geese star soars with the voice of a future great". NME. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  29. ↑ Sandiford, Kayla (January 20, 2026). "Cameron Winter headlines secret charity show under alias "Chet Chomsky"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  30. 1 2 Semley, John (April 14, 2026). "The Fanfare Around the Band Geese Actually Was a Psyop". Wired. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  31. ↑ "The Secret to How a Song Goes Viral on TikTok, With Digital Marketing Agency Chaotic Good". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  32. ↑ D'Souza, Shaad (April 30, 2026). "Indie music has been invaded by fake fans and cynical viral campaigns. Here's how deep it all goes". The Guardian. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  33. ↑ Robins-Somerville, Grace (April 15, 2026). "Congratulations, you discovered digital marketing". Paste. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  34. ↑ Graves, Wren (April 14, 2026). "No, Geese Is Not a "Psy-Op"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
  35. ↑ Pace-McCarrick, Solomon (April 16, 2026). "If Geese are a psy-op, so is everything else". Dazed. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Elephant Hunter". Bandcamp. September 6, 2019.
  37. ↑ Richet, Thomas (October 19, 2026). ""Live at Carnegie Hall", de Cameron Winter : le premier album live du jeune prodige de la folk américaine". Télérama (in French). Retrieved October 22, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ↑ Cohen, Ian (November 4, 2021). "Projector". Pitchfork.
  39. ↑ Niederman, Lucy (May 27, 2025). "Cameron Winter marks solo breakthrough with Jools Holland performance". The Line of Best Fit.
  40. ↑ Smith, Liam (February 24, 2026). "Cameron Winter and the Vocal as a Dissonant Instrument". Long River Review.
  41. ↑ Walker, Sophie Leigh (December 10, 2024). "Cameron Winter is not kidding this time". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  42. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (November 19, 2024). "Geese's Cameron Winter talks debut solo album 'Heavy Metal': "I don't care about what anyone expects or wants from me"". NME. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  43. ↑ Dolan, Jon (October 28, 2021). "Geese Are Legit Indie-Rock Prodigies, Straight Out of High School". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  44. ↑ Blau, Ian (June 21, 2023). "Geese Get Bluesier, Proggier, Dancier, Slicker, Rougher, Weirder, Better on '3D Country". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  45. 1 2 Davenport, Tom (April 14, 2025). "A lovely Sunday morning today. I don't know why. What did you do?". The Red Hand Files. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  46. 1 2 Jones, Damian (April 15, 2025). "Nick Cave reveals the "glorious" album he's currently enjoying at the moment". NME. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Billboard 200: Week of October 24, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved October 20, 2026.
  48. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 19, 2026. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  49. 1 2 "Cameron Winter songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2026.
  50. ↑ "Official Hot 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. October 16, 2026. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  51. ↑ Mickles, Kiana (August 19, 2026). "Cameron Winter Announces Live at Carnegie Hall". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  52. ↑ War Child UK (March 6, 2026). "War Child Records Release 'HELP(2)'". War Child.
  53. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (August 5, 2025). "Is That Cameron Winter on Phoebe Bridgers' New Album?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 22, 2026.