Your music has been described as “new west.” Can you tell us what that means to you?
To me, it’s a picture of the traditional western lifestyle in a modern way. It highlights the pedal steel and instruments that pay respect to my Texas roots, and the music I grew up listening to, while bringing it into our day and age.
Does your Texas background play a part in your music?
Yes, I grew up in a ranching family and that made me love the romance of the Southwest and what the Cowboy represents in our culture…hard work, love, open spaces, and grit. Because I grew up surrounded by that, I want to depict the beauty of what life can look like through the lens of modern country music.
You released a trilogy of songs at the end of last year: “F-150,” “Slow Dancing on the Moon,” and “Shooting Stars.” What is the story progression within these songs?
To me, it represented a very real relationship I had and what it feels like to “feel” like someone is the one. To go all in and then figure out that you gave your heart away before the time was right. It’s a very real process when you are trying to make a decision about someone and look back thinking about how much you really loved them, regardless of the fact that you know it wasn’t right to start. It’s a process most of us go through when we fall in love for the first time. This was my way of telling that story.
How do some of your classic country influences play a part in your music?
So much of what I love about country music came from what I love about George Strait and what he represents as a man and to us, as anyone that resonates with the western lifestyle. He makes it so beautiful and uses pedal steel like it needs to be used…to make people feel every emotion and lyric. My goal is to honor what I love about that with my music.
Do you have influences from other genres that play a role in your music?
I really enjoy pop music, and the creative sounds it brings into music and the mass appeal females have within that world. I think they write to a wider audience that we, as women in country music, can learn from and model after to appeal to a wider audience, especially male listeners. I listen to it a lot to spark ideas and also because it’s fun to dance to. I want my live sets to be influenced by that. It’s fun to think about how some of those grooves can be used in a more traditional, country/western way. I have a foot in both worlds and my music needs to as well.
What is your songwriting process like?
It’s always about the idea. When I get the idea, the lyric and melody of the chorus usually comes pretty easy. I have to be able to wrap my head around something I want to say before I even arrive at a writing session. Then, the ideas take shape and I know pretty quickly which songs are “me” songs.
What’s your favorite song to perform live?
F-150 because it feels so good and brings out a very natural side of me on stage.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
George Strait.
What does it mean to you to be a woman in country music right now?
It’s a challenge, but one I am excited about. I have always been the kind of girl that doesn’t mind when someone says something it’s going to be hard. It makes me want to solve the problem, to keep going anyway and that’s where I feel like most of us are with the issue of women in country music. I want to be one of the reasons the tide starts to change.
What can fans expect in 2019? Is there new music on the horizon?
Yes, new music very, very soon and my goal is to have lots of shows coming up in the Fall. I can’t wait to be on stage every night.