It’s hard to put just one label on Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Billy the Kid (a.k.a Kristen Pettinger). She’s been a solo folk singer, band leader, guitar slinger, punk rocker and label owner (Lost Records). As she puts it, her work is “a call-to-arms for individual thinking, personal pride and refusal to relent.” Her EP The Lost Cause features a blindingly star-studded cast of musicians. Produced by Raine Maida, such greats as Garth Hudson (The Band, Bob Dylan), drummer Randy Cooke (Ringo Starr/Dave Stewart), guitarist Ben Peeler (Jacob Dylan/The Wallflowers) and harmonica player Stan Behrens (Ruth Brown, The Four Tops) participated in The Kid’s vision. The Lost Cause hit No. 1 on MuchLoud’s charts, leading her to a spot on the Warped Tour. In 2009 she was nominated for XM Radio’s The Verge Artist of the Year, and she released Billy The Kid Live at the Verge this year. In the fall, she’s setting out on her biggest cross-Canada tour yet.