Whenever blonde little sister Beth Green on the Walking Dead would quit running from flesh eating zombies just long enough to break out a happy little ditty and cheer everyone up, it seemed fans either gave a huge (if dismembered) thumbs up, or they wanted to rip her throat open with their teeth the way Rick Grimes put the jaws of death on that king of the Claimers dude. Emily Kinney is actually a professional singer, with several albums since 2011 and occasional radio airplay with singles like 2014’s dancefloor fave “Rockstar.” She cites storytelling singers such as Harry Chapin and San Diego’s Tom Waits as inspirations, with several autobiographical songs on her newest album Oh Jonathan. Unlike the somewhat warbly singing voice of her Walking Dead character, Kinney’s own vocals, while still soft as the heart that got poor Beth killed, have a fully engaging authority and presence. Nobody’s going to mistake her for an opera singer, but she’s far more suited for the House of Blues stage, where she appears November 12, than a campfire surrounded by rotting walkers. Kinney's Same Mistakes tour features a full touring band to flesh out her minimalist pop musings on nostalgia, stability, and adulthood, as in her single "Boy Band Hero."