Tag: Nashville

Carolina Calling, Shelby: Local Legends Breathe New Life Into Small Town

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

The image of bluegrass is mountain music played and heard at high altitudes and towns like Deep Gap and remote mountain hollers across the Appalachians. But the earliest form of the music originated at lower elevations, in textile towns across the North Carolina Piedmont. As far back as the 1920s, old-time string bands like Charlie Poole’s North Carolina Ramblers were playing an early form of the music in textile towns, like Gastonia, Spray, and Shelby – in Cleveland County west of Charlotte.

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In this second episode of Carolina Calling, a podcast exploring the history of North Carolina through its music and the musicians who made it, we visit the small town of Shelby: a seemingly quiet place, like most small Southern towns one might pass by in their travels. Until you see the signs for the likes of the Don Gibson Theatre and the Earl Scruggs Center, you wouldn’t guess that it was the town that raised two of the most influential musicians and songwriters in bluegrass and country music: Earl Scruggs, one of the most important musicians in the birth of bluegrass, whose banjo playing was so innovative that it still bears his name, “Scruggs style,” and Don Gibson, one of the greatest songwriters in the pop & country pantheon, who wrote “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Sweet Dreams,” and other songs you know by heart. For both Don Gibson and Earl Scruggs, Shelby is where it all began.

Subscribe to Carolina Calling on any and all podcast platforms to follow along as we journey across the Old North State, visiting towns like Greensboro, Durham, Wilmington, Asheville, and more.

Music featured in this episode:

Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers – “Take a Drink On Me”
Flatt & Scruggs – “Ground Speed”
Don Gibson – “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
Andrew Marlin – “Erie Fiddler” (Carolina Calling Theme)
Hedy West – “Cotton Mill Girl”
Blind Boy Fuller – “Rag Mama, Rag”
Don Gibson – “Sea Of Heartbreak”
Patsy Cline – “Sweet Dreams ”
Ray Charles – “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
Ronnie Milsap – “(I’d Be) A Legend In My Time”
Elvis Presley – “Crying In The Chapel”
Hank Snow – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Don Gibson – “Sweet Dreams”
Don Gibson – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Chet Atkins – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Johnny Cash – “Oh, Lonesome Me”
The Everly Brothers – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Neil Young – “Oh Lonesome Me”
Flatt & Scruggs – “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”
Bill Preston – “Holy, Holy, Holy”
Flat & Scruggs – “We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart”
Snuffy Jenkins – “Careless Love”
Bill Monroe – “Uncle Pen”
Bill Monroe – “It’s Mighty Dark To Travel”
The Earl Scruggs Revue – “I Shall Be Released”
The Band – “I Shall Be Released”
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”
The Country Gentlemen – “Fox On The Run”
Sonny Terry – “Whoopin’ The Blues”
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee – “Born With The Blues (Live)”
Nina Simone – “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”

BGS is proud to produce Carolina Calling in partnership with Come Hear NC, a campaign from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ contribution to the canon of American music.

WATCH: JOHNNYSWIM, “Heaven Is Everywhere”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: JOHNNYSWIM
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Single: “Heaven Is Everywhere”
Album: JOHNNYSWIM
Release Date: April 8, 2022

In Their Words: “When I started singing this chorus in the shower, I felt like what was inside of me was bigger than the whole world and I wanted to share it. I find, whether it’s in church or in politics, that people get so obsessed with right and wrong and their certainty of it. If we experience the beauty of this life, even though the drudgery and the misery, there’s glimpses of heaven around us at all times. My hope with this song is that people can feel that when they hear it and sing it.” — Abner Ramirez, JOHNNYSWIM

Photo Credit: Chloe Eno

BGS 5+5: Kristy Cox

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Artist: Kristy Cox
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee, by way of Mount Barker, South Australia
Latest album: Shades of Blue
Personal nicknames: Nil

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

This would have to be one of the hardest questions to answer. I grew up listening to a HUGE range of music styles. My parents are big ’70s rock fans, and my pop listened to old time Australian country music and bluegrass. I feel I have been influenced in a different way from all of the artists that shaped my childhood, from Meatloaf and Queen to Slim Dusty and Merle Haggard; they each have given me something. I would say my idol is Emmylou Harris. I love her rawness, her songs and her voice. She is fantastic!

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I was around 4 years old when I first told my mum and dad that I was going to be a singer when I grew up. From an even younger age there are photos of me playing the guitar. I think I always knew that it was what I wanted to do. I first performed on stage at the age of 11, and was completely hooked from that moment on. I have a law degree and studied to ensure I had a “backup plan” but I have never wanted to do anything else.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I am currently halfway through writing a song for my children, Adelaide and Ryman. I have been halfway through for two years now and just cannot think of enough words to describe what they mean to me, or how their little fingerprints will forever be on my heart. I think as a songwriter it is hard sometimes to find the words you want to say, no matter how hard you look. One day I know it will come to me and I will be able to finish it as a gift to them.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I was extremely lucky to meet my idol Emmylou Harris at the IBMA convention in 2013. It was my first trip to the United States, and I was able to go backstage and meet her. At the time I thought I had to perform country pop music, as that was what all the girls my age were doing, even though I was not the biggest fan of it. Emmylou told me that if she could give me one piece of advice, it would be to play music that I enjoy, and if I ever stop enjoying it … that is the moment to stop. I left that day and decided to start recording bluegrass music, because bluegrass made me happy! I am so glad I listened to her. I am not sure I would still be going if it was not for that advice.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I need sunshine and the beach in my life. Being an Australian and living landlocked in Tennessee has made me realize this. There is something about the sound of the ocean, I do not even have to get in, that settles me. I have begun to notice that if I do not get enough sunshine and don’t do at least four trips to an ocean each year, I become almost depressed and distracted. These elements ground me and help me concentrate on my goals and inspire me to do more.

Photo Credit: Katrina Burgoyne

LISTEN: Jeremy Ivey, “Trial by Fire”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Jeremy Ivey
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: Trial By Fire
Album: Invisible Pictures
Release Date: March 11, 2022
Label: ANTI-

In Their Words: My wife Margo is always one of my main muses because she’s my best friend and the person I spend most of my time with. She was going through a low point deciding to cut alcohol out of her life and feeling like she would lose friends and that even I would think less of her. We sat around the firepit at our house one night and talked it out. The next morning I wrote this song. It came out so fast, I thought I had stolen it. The simple message is that all a person needs to be in this world is themselves.” — Jeremy Ivey

Photo credit: Danielle Holbert

Keb’ Mo’ Leans on His California Roots to Make ‘Good to Be’

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Keb’ Mo’ enjoyed a career milestone as he received a Lifetime Achievement in Performance Award from the Americana Music Association in 2021. Presented at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the award joins a list of distinctions that include five Grammys and 14 Blues Foundation Awards. But in typically understated fashion, Mo’ (a.k.a. Kevin Moore) downplayed the latest honor during his Artist of the Month interview with the Bluegrass Situation.

“Well, for me I guess it represents the fact I’m getting old,” he said with a laugh. “But sure, you are honored whenever you get that kind of recognition from your peers. But I’ve still got a lot that I want to do and I’m still looking ahead.” A huge indication of that is his outstanding new LP, Good to Be. It is both a tribute to his background growing up in Compton, California, and a celebration of some 11 years in his current hometown, Nashville.

Good to Be superbly showcases the wide mix of influences that Keb’ Mo’ has seamlessly explored in a glittering career that’s covered nearly five decades. He’s consistently demonstrated his excellence in multiple genres, while collaborating with artists that include Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and the Chicks. As a songwriter he’s had numbers covered by B.B. King and Zac Brown Band, among others.

A personal favorite on the new project is “Good Strong Woman,” which he co-wrote with Jason Nix and Jason Gantt. Darius Rucker joins Keb’ Mo’ for a splendid vocal effort that’s already yielded both a single and video. “Man, he came in and just sang the hell out of that song,” Mo’ observed. “I didn’t have to say much. He just took it and really put his heart and soul in it and we got something really special out of it.”

Looking back at Keb’ Mo’s distinctive recorded legacy, a couple of his creative triumphs are especially memorable. While he had one LP issued as Kevin Moore in 1980, he would truly begin making his mark as Keb’ Mo’ in 1994. Two years later, Just Like You would bring his first Grammy award (for Best Contemporary Blues Album) and become the first of seven LPs that would reach No. 1 on the Billboard blues chart.

That tradition continues with Good to Be, which in its first week earned his eighth Billboard blues chart-topper. He’s also displayed his country vocal and production chops on the 2001 Grammy-winning Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute album, soaring on “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” His 2017 duo release with Taj Mahal was a brilliant summit meeting of two greats whose careers are remarkably similar in terms of versatility and genre-blending.

Two of Music City’s heavyweights contributed to the sessions for Good to Be. Country great Vince Gill produced three tracks and ace drummer/producer Tom Hambridge was on board for several others. Still, Mo’s vision is what clearly comes through each tune. “When I go into the studio, I definitely have my own plans and ideas at the forefront,” he said. “No question that Vince and Tom had suggestions and ideas, and sure, I’m open to input, but ultimately it’s got to reflect what I’m most comfortable with and about.”

The album’s title track, produced by Gill, is a poignant and powerful number, with Mo’ singing passionately about his youth and the impact Compton will always have on his life and work. The supporting vocals from Gordon Mote, Paul Franklin, and Wendy Moten add emotional punch and dimension. Mo’ wrote it during a return visit to Compton last year, inside the childhood home he purchased and renovated in 2018. It’s also where he composed “The Medicine Man,” recorded on the album with Old Crow Medicine Show.

“I’d been talking with Ketch (Secor) about doing something with Old Crow for a long time,” he recalled. “But this one just proved to be the right tune. I sent it to Ketch and we talked a bit, but there weren’t a lot of things that we had to change. It fit and really worked out very well.”

Mo’ also turns in a stirring rendition of the Bill Withers’ original “Lean on Me.” “At this point in my career I don’t do a lot of covers, but Bill was such a great friend and songwriter I wanted to pay him tribute,” he said. That track also includes a memorable vocal contribution from Ernest “Rip” Patton, the longtime Civil Rights leader and a Nashville Freedom Rider who died in August 2021. Patton was a neighbor in Compton as Mo’ was growing up.

“Man, it was such a shock to me when I came to Nashville and found out that this wonderful man who had been a neighbor had contributed so much in fighting for justice and equality,” Mo’ added. “He was such a great man, but for a long time to me he was just Rip. When I found out all the other things it was incredible.”

Keb’ Mo’s extensive laundry list of professional highlights isn’t limited to the bandstand. He’s also enjoyed success as an actor, playing Robert Johnson in the 1998 documentary Can’t You Hear the Wind Howl, and portraying Howlin’ Wolf on CMT’s Sun Records. Mo’s also been involved for many years in social justice activities, being a celebrity mentor with the Kennedy Center’s Turnaround Arts program, adopting the Johnson School for Excellence in Chicago, and being an ambassador for the Playing for Change Foundation.

After more than a decade as a Nashville resident, he says he’s seeing some things that have changed for the better in regard to diversity and inclusion. He’s particularly happy about the new National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) which opened last year on Fifth Avenue, right across from the legendary Ryman Auditorium.

“When you walk in that place and you look around, not only do you see and feel the history of a people and of music in this nation, you also get a sense of pride,” Mo’ said. “Going in there and seeing those exhibits, and just knowing that this building is in Nashville is an amazing thing. I’ve been here (in Nashville) for a while, and everywhere I go I see signs of positive change. When I’m going down on Broadway and seeing more diversity in the crowds, even in the music you hear in the clubs, well, it’s a good feeling.”

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

BGS 5+5: Erin Rae

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Erin Rae
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Album: Lighten Up

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Aside from my parents, I’d say it’s a toss up between the melodic storytelling of Kate Campbell, a Nashville songwriter that I grew up listening to, and Feist. Kate’s melodies and the way she captures the experiences of herself and others; the way she captures a feeling, I think I have spent enough time with a couple records of hers specifically that they are grooved into my brain, haha. Not to be dramatic. I listened to her record Moonpie Dreams a lot on my drives from Nashville to Cookeville, Tennessee, in college, and Nashville to Birmingham. There are so many references to Tennessee specifically. I was introduced to Feist by my friend April in high school, when “1234” came out, but then again I was reintroduced at about 19 when I started writing songs. A friend told me to listen to Let It Die in full, and that was in like 2010. I pretty much haven’t stopped listening. Her documentary called Look at What the Light Did Now inspired me and showed me the various avenues to explore and develop when making a record. I loved the input from her creative director, and I am continuously inspired by the soft strength of her voice, and her freaking guitar playing. Geez.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This will sound like a no-brainer, but last summer, I got to open for Trampled by Turtles + CAAMP at Red Rocks in Colorado. It was my first performance with a band since 2019, not to mention this legendary venue surrounded by all this natural beauty. I think what made it the most special though, was that my family flew out for the shows, and my management team is based just down the road in Denver, so they were there. I was feeling excited, prepared, and most of all extremely supported by everyone in my corner. The show had stayed on the books from the summer of 2020 when it got bumped, so it was that light at the end of the tunnel. I looked over at Sean Thompson, who was playing guitar and his hair was blowing back in the wind and his eyes were closed… epic, haha.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I feel like I received this advice from two people I admire, but the gist from both folks was this: When you are playing a show, go ahead and consider it practice for the next one. Be in the moment of course, but do not worry so much about how perfect it is. You’re going to be playing shows for a long time. Each one is an opportunity to be present, and an opportunity to learn. Another piece along similar lines was from my dad. He likened playing shows to a meditation practice. Occasionally, you sit down to meditate, or you get up to play, and it’s just amazing; it’s just automatically flowing. And you think, “Oh, awesome, I have to remember this, surely I can make this happen again tomorrow,” and then inevitably the next show or set is just so-so. You can’t get out of your head. The goal is not to have a perfect show or perfect meditation every time; the goal is to be present and show up consistently as best you can. Over time, you’ll have played some great shows! And a lot of shows that were just okay, or even bad. But it’s not really personal.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I think the main one is a little mini meditation. I’m not saying that to brag about how mindful I am, because I am most definitely NOT. But Questlove said it best in his book, Creative Quest. He said he takes a little second to settle into the present moment. Sometimes I will say a little prayer, but mostly it’s just about feeling my feet on the ground and breathing into the moment. That’s the only place we can connect to one another!

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I think I officially caught the bug at Cafe Coco, at the legendary open mic that used to happen there, back when it was hosted by Maurice Barrett. I had been teaching myself guitar a little bit, and was home for Christmas break from what ended up being my only semester in college, and my brother Wil took me to the open mic. I didn’t leave until 3 a.m., and after a couple more Thursdays of that, and some song ideas starting to percolate, I told my parents I was going to stay home for a semester to pursue music. A little optimistic of me, I will say, but that was ten years ago. I started taking guitar and vocal lessons that next month, and felt supported by everyone around me to keep going. That I’ve kept going is due mostly to the encouragement of any friends of mine that have nudged me to make records, or facilitated them. And now I’ve gotten to do so many bucket list things, and see so many places, and I can’t wait to keep going.

For my playlist, I chose five of my favorite songs from that record of Kate’s, Moonpie Dreams.

Photo Credit: Bree Fish

Artist of the Month: Keb’ Mo’

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Keb’ Mo’ is going back to his roots on a new album, Good to Be, where he illustrates the bond that connects his hometown of Compton, California, to where he’s settled now. In fact, he wrote some of the songs in Nashville and others in Compton, where he bought and renovated his childhood home.

“I’ve lived in Nashville for the last eleven years, but Compton has always been my home. Finding a way to connect those two places on this album was a powerful thing for me. It felt like something I needed to do,” he says. “You can’t bring an attitude to Compton. You can’t pose. You can’t be anything but real when you’re walking down the same streets you used to ride your bike on as a kid. In a lot of ways, coming back there felt like it completed me.”

Our BGS Artist of the Month for February, Keb’ Mo’ (otherwise known as Kevin Moore) enlisted Vince Gill and Tom Hambridge as his co-producers, and by melding everyone’s sonic influences, Good to Be feels bigger than just the blues.

“This album is where I’m at right now,” he says. “It might not fit neatly into a certain category (even though the music biz and algorithms like to keep me tightly in the blues genre). Don’t get me wrong: the blues is a very important part of my experience, but it’s not all of who I am musically. Years ago, I drove around in LA delivering flowers and listening to some of the greatest Nashville artists on the radio, and now that I’ve lived here a while, it’s probably shaped me even more. So the album might be ‘all over the place,’ but the common denominator is always going to be me.”

After a string of snowy New England shows on the calendar, Keb’ Mo’ will head south to Florida in February, followed by Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest in March, then the West Coast in April. After that he’s bound for Europe. Yet, he carries one mission with him wherever he travels.

“I believe that music has the power to heal,” he says, “and I wanted this album to make people feel good. I wanted it to bring joy and make them maybe think about where they come from and the journeys that brought them to where they are.” Meanwhile, hear more from Keb’ Mo’ with our BGS Essentials playlist.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

WATCH: Jessica Willis Fisher, “Fire Song”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Jessica Willis Fisher
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Fire Song”
Album: Brand New Day
Release Date: April 13, 2022
Label: Bard Craft Records

In Their Words: “‘Fire Song’ is the most bold lyric on my whole upcoming record. It had to be; it picks up where I left off when I left my family band six years ago this spring. Inspired by the hardest season of my life, this song says that sometimes we have to let it all burn to the ground in order to survive and start over.

“All but one other song on the record I wrote myself, but ‘Fire Song’ was co-written with Jon Randall. I was so honored to get to work with him and had first fallen in love with his work when I heard the beautifully dark ‘Whiskey Lullaby.’ I knew this was the right idea to take to him and I’m so happy with what we made together.

“The ‘Fire Song’ lyrics are so vivid, almost cinematic, so we knew we had to make a video for it if we got the chance. Quinton Cook, the director, did a fantastic job with the Glitch video crew. We burned a lot of stuff! At one point the flames were four times as tall as me. In the video, you can see at different points I’m both the person being sung to and the person singing, playing fiddle and stoking the fire.” — Jessica Willis Fisher

Photo Credit: Sean Fisher

The Show On The Road – Allison Russell

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, we launch season 4 of the show with a bilingual banjo-slinging singer-songwriter originally from Montreal and now based in Nashville: Allison Russell.

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After two decades of quietly creating heart-on-her-sleeve roots music in hard-touring groups like Po’ Girl, Birds Of Chicago, and recently the supergroup Our Native Daughters – playing the guitar, clarinet, banjo and singing in English and French – the spotlight finally fell straight on Russell in 2021. With the help of her husband and longtime creative partner JT Nero, she released her visceral debut solo record Outside Child which confronts her traumatic childhood head on.

Rarely has an album struck such a nerve in the Americana community, as songs like “4th Day Prayer” use the slippery soul of Al Green’s best work and Mahalia Jackson’s gospel inspiration to paint in white-knuckled detail how she escaped the abusive home of her stepfather for the graveyards and streets of Montreal. As she tells us in the intense conversation from her home in Tennessee, it was her songwriting hero Brandi Carlile who went to bat for her (a bold Instagram DM set fate in motion,) helping get her raw, unreleased songs to Fantasy Records. Thankfully, they wanted to take a leap. Even President Obama noticed after the songs began to circulate and he put her ominous radio standout “Nightflyer” on his favorite songs of the year list. The album has since been nominated for three Grammy awards.

While Allison may feel like an “overnight sensation” to those just discovering her on AAA radio, hearing her soaring voice shining on stages from Carnegie Hall, Red Rocks and the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, she’s been playing hundreds of shows in small clubs and festivals around the world for twenty-two years and counting. It hasn’t been an easy road, as she often had to her young daughter on the trail with her.

With a new book deal in the works continuing her story where Outside Child left off, there is much more to come from Russell. A champion for the often forgotten victims of domestic and sexual abuse, listening to Russell speak reminds one more of a fiery community organizer than a singer. Did your host try and convince Russell to run for office? Maybe.

Stick around to hear her dive into one of her favorite tracks from the new record, the hopeful clarinet shuffle “Poison Arrow.”

Finding Inspiration in Creation, Ellie Holcomb Moves Forward in Love

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As a consequence of growing up in the music industry and singing background vocals on albums since she was 8, Ellie Holcomb opted not to seek a future as a professional singer.

“I actually decided that I didn’t want to be a part of it at an early age, which is hilarious,” says Holcomb, who today has a thriving career as a Christian music singer and also records and performs with her husband, Drew Holcomb. It amounts to two separate careers, with her solo music tending towards inspirational anthems and the duo producing a more intimate Americana sound. Ellie’s powerful voice is equally adept at belting out a dramatic ballad or giving a more tender, reserved performance.

Ellie’s father is producer Brown Bannister, who produced albums by Amy Grant and many other Christian singers. He now runs the music school at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

“I was around a lot of people who did this for their work,” she says. “I’m so grateful because I saw from a really young age the power of music to encourage, to bring hope and to help people feel less alone. But I also saw the cost of doing music, like you have to leave. It’s often really hard on families.”

For our Artist of the Month interview, Ellie fielded questions from BGS as she and Drew drove to Chattanooga for a performance. (Read our Artist of the Month interview with Drew.)

BGS: You’ve got a powerful voice. When did you first realize that?

Oh, thank you. I guess from a pretty young age. I was singing in studios with my dad. When the budget ran out, I would come and be the background singer on whatever project he was working on.

What a great way to get experience.

I’ve kind of learned from the best in terms of how to become a singer. But I think even on this last record (Canyon, 2021), there were parts of my voice that I didn’t really know were there. As I’ve gotten older, there’s been this other realm that I’ve tapped into. It feels like painting with more colors. That’s been really fun, to realize I have this whole other set of tones and colors and textures that I didn’t realize in my voice.

Who are some of the artists you worked with as a child?

I sang on (Amy Grant’s) Home for Christmas as a little 8-year-old girl. It’s kind of hard to imagine artists in the Christian world that I haven’t sung with. I’ve done Sandi Patty back in the day, Steven Curtis Chapman, Matthew West, Charlie Peacock, Mercy Me, Bart Millard. It’s hilarious because there will be songs I’m hearing and I’m like, “Oh, it’s me. I forgot I sang on that.”

How do you and Drew differ in your music tastes?

It’s interesting. We have a lot of overlap in what we love. He grew up listening to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. When I grew up, my dad was making records with Amy Grant. I love Sara Groves. Then we both love Carole King. He leans a little more into the rock land, and I lean more singer-songwriter.

You have young children (Emmylou, 9; Huck, 6; and Rivers, 3). Is touring difficult for you and Drew because of that?

I feel like we found a really beautiful way to kind of blend all that together. We bring the kids on the road a lot and we tour together and apart. So we kind of have a crazy schedule. But thankfully, Drew is a logistical ninja. He’s really good at keeping tabs on where everybody is and childcare. We’ve got a village of people that have come around us. We just keep getting family members and nannies (to help). It just feels like when they have to move on, we have another aunt in the arsenal. So we have been very blessed to have family and friends and incredible nannies come alongside of us as we do this crazy music life.

You quit your husband’s band (Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors) after seven years in 2012, and then pursued a solo career. What brought that about?

I’d actually quit Drew’s band to be a stay-at-home mom. Our daughter was in a car seat for over eight hours a day. By the time she was six months, she’d been to 32 states and Canada. And I’m like, “I don’t think I can keep her in a car seat for seven hours a day, poor thing.” So I quit to do the mom thing.

How did that morph into launching a solo career?

It was hilarious. I kept trying to write songs for his band. But often when I would sit down to write a song, I would say, “Drew, I’m so sorry, I accidentally wrote another song about God.” I didn’t mean to, but I’m just a spiritual person. I don’t fully understand everything, and I feel really comfortable in a lot of the mystery, but that is something that my heart has always been drawn to. And so I loved what Drew’s response was. He was like, “Hey, write what’s in you. Let those songs out.”

When he said that, it lit a fire within me. I don’t know that I needed permission from him, but all of a sudden I just felt this freedom to sing what was in my heart. That’s usually me saying, “I believe, but help my unbelief.” I’m usually wrestling my faith to the ground. I’m working my faith out through song. I guess the songs were helping me find some semblance of peace and comfort and solace. So I thought, “Man, maybe they’d help somebody else. That’d be cool.”

Does the divisiveness going on now in the U.S. tempt you to write political songs?

I don’t know that it does. I feel called to move forward in love, and I guess sometimes that will intersect, politically speaking, in terms of using your voice to speak up on behalf of those who maybe don’t have a voice. That can look political at times. But I think for me, I’m less motivated by politics and more motivated by love and peacemaking. But sometimes to make peace, you’ve got to tell the truth.

Many of your solo videos are filmed with spectacular nature backgrounds. Why do you return to that approach so often?

It’s very intentional because creation itself is one of the ways that I experience God most. I feel like the story of love beating death is written all over creation. When the (coronavirus) numbers were low, we did a trip where we went down into the Grand Canyon, rafted the Colorado River, spent the night on the riverbanks and then rafted out. While we were down there, a guide was telling us that in the Grand Canyon, the walls really tell a story. It’s actually a story of disaster upon disaster: landslide, mudslide, volcano, earthquake, flood, drought. Then there’s this great divide split wide open by a river, and I thought, this just looks like a picture of literally all of our hearts, especially after the last two years. There is a current of love that runs deeper than our deepest ache, pain or longing that will carry us back to a place where we can know that we’re beloved, no matter how broken we are. I’m like, “All right, let’s get in a place where I’m reminded of that. Maybe it’ll remind other people of that.”

You’ve spoken on stage about seeking help for depression and anxiety. Why did you decide to do that?

I want everybody to know how precious they are. I want to remember it myself and I want kids to know that. So it’s been a joy to speak openly about depression and anxiety and worry and fear and division and to say, these are all real things in a broken world. But we’re invited to be hope-people and bridge-building people and people who are about reconciliation and love. I really love getting to come stumbling and tripping and broken and full of doubt and fear sometimes into the presence of love. And I will happily hobble my way into that presence over and over again and invite others to come along with me.

Photo Credit: Ashtin Paige