Next Women of Country

[Kim]

CMT News

Next Women of Country: Ashley Monroe - Pistol Annies Member Releases New Album, Like a Rose


Ashley Monroe

Ashley Monroe isn't one to beat around the bush about the fact that her richly traditional new country album, Like a Rose, has been a long time coming. She pretty much spells that out during the title track, a single that boasts co-writing contributions from Guy Clark and Jon Randall along with sympathetic harmonies and production support from Vince Gill.

Monroe's had her share of professional disappointments during her decade-plus in Nashville, but they've been outnumbered by the eclectic uses she's found for her East Tennessee mountain soul singing and songwriting, not to mention the wide range of admirers she's assembled.

Chosen as one of CMT's Next Women of Country, Monroe connects the dots between her underage honky-tonking, prolific dueting, breakthroughs with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley in the Pistol Annies and the solo album that finally showcases her undiluted musical identity.

CMT Edge: I first interviewed you in 2006 as you were preparing to release your first album, Satisfied. A lot has changed since then. So I'd like to try and place your entire story in context for those who have discovered you at various points along the way.

Monroe: Yeah, let's tie it all together.

Were you 15 when you and your mom moved to Nashville?

I think it might've been at the end of 15, but I'm not positive. Sometimes it's a blur because my dad died, a bunch of stuff happened and I just knew we had to get out of that town. I knew we had to get to Nashville. Looking back, we didn't know anybody. It was just my mom and I. ... We had no idea what we were doing, really. I was so dead set on it, on making it, on writing. I didn't think anything of it, which looking back I'm like, "Wow, that's pretty bold."

How were you pitching yourself when you first got to town?

I think I just dove into writing. Also, mama would take me down on Broadway before they started carding [at the honky-tonks]. So I would get up at Second Fiddle or Tootsie's and say, "Hey, y'all know 'When Will I Be Loved'? Hey, y'all know 'Rocky Top'?" Again, that was very bold. I wouldn't do that now, and I'm a grown woman. Then this one man heard me singing "Rocky Top" and soon after introduced me to my publisher and [songwriter] Brett James right after that. Then I started writing with Brett, and he was in my corner.

After dad had died, I had started writing a whole lot, not because I thought you could make a living off of it -- just because it had to come out. I had no idea when I moved to Nashville people just were songwriters. I had no idea. So I guess I was selling myself as a singer when I first moved here. But then right after I first moved, I started writing a lot.

I can't remember exactly what your family relationship is to Carl Smith and the Carters. Aren't you related to Roy Acuff, too?

Roy Acuff's from Maynardville and that's where a lot of my family's from. So he's, I've been told, a distant cousin, as well. So my dad's dad, his name was Scott. ... Scott and Carl Smith [also from Maynardsville] were first cousins. I grew up knowing Carlene [Carter] was my cousin as well. Wore her little tapes out. My dad's mom, her name was Betty Carter. She was distantly kin to the Carter family. The same line, it just goes back a few notches. So it was definitely closer on Carl's side. But, you know, Carl and June married. In East Tennessee, there's just some relations. Everybody's related, but nobody talks about it. Frankly, I think that my grandparents were kin. (laughs)

A few years after I moved to Nashville, I met Kix Brooks, and he knew Carl Smith real well. ... I remember I went to some horse show that Kix was doing that Carl and Goldie [Hill, Smith's second wife] were at. Then she got sick and passed soon after that. Then I would just go visit Carl at his house. He didn't do music anymore at all. He had to dig around for a guitar. He went and bought a little CD player so he could listen to my Satisfied record. ... He told me, "You're carrying it on. You got it."

Speaking of feedback from older generations, early on you got a complimentary letter from Dolly Parton and a request from George Jones to open for him on tour. Plus Vince Gill introduced you during your first Opry performance. Did it feel like you were getting the seal of approval from your elders, in a way?

For sure. Every single person you just talked about, I feel like my soul is their age. Sometimes I can talk better to people that are in their 70s or 80s -- or a 4-year-old. I can talk to them better than my own age bracket. Dolly, that letter she wrote me, that was in 2004. She had heard a demo of "Hank's Cadillac" and a few other songs that me and Brett had written. And for her to take time to write this letter, quote my lyrics ... it was just so humbling.

That's the reputation side of things. What happened on the commercial side that kept your first album from seeing the light of day?

When the labels merged, that's obviously a frazzled time for everybody who works at the label. The new label head inherited all these acts. I just think it was the wrong time. But I think it was the wrong time perfectly because I feel like I made great relationships. ... I don't have any hard feelings about it. I feel like all of that needed to happen for me to grow, for me to realize how much my passion is wanting to do this.

When you were regrouping, did you actively pursue co-writing or singing with other acts?

No. They pursued me, which is the cool thing about my faith that God has a plan. Because looking back, I needed something to look forward to after it didn't work out with Sony.

I'd hear of Jason Aldean recording one of your songs -- or Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert -- or of you writing with Guy Clark or Vince Gill or Dwight Yoakam, or of you collaborating with Trent Dabbs, Jack White, the Raconteurs and Brendan Benson, going on Ten Out of Tenn and Wanda Jackson tours and singing on Josh Kelley and Train albums.

Oh, my gosh! I have been everywhere.

Everywhere! All across the spectrum, from mainstream to way-left-of-center stuff. Is there anything I missed?

No, I think you got it. You know more about me than I do. It's so weird to hear that in a list. I love music so much. I've got something going all the time. I've gotta be singing. I've gotta be creating music or I'm not happy.

When did you first cross paths with Miranda Lambert?

I think [Satisfied had] just been made, and [Lambert's] Kerosene had just come out. ... She texted this big, long message saying, "I just heard your record. Oh, my gosh. I'm blown away. Let's write. I want to hang out." Maybe a week or two later, I met up with her in Texas, and it was just like somebody I've known my entire life.

What's been the ripple effect of the way people embraced Pistol Annies?

When we first started going out on the road with her, we would go and do two songs in the middle of a set. It was almost like everybody's heads would tilt like, "What is this?" ... So we keep on touring, and slowly but surely, the crowd gets louder. And the two mics would come out and you would hear these big screams before us. ... We saw the crowd start to embrace us, and then we saw them start to sing along. Then we'd add more songs, and they would sing along to those, too.

It seemed significant to me that you were the first feisty female country trio to really grab people since the Dixie Chicks, and also that there was a strong, down-to-earth songwriting perspective, rootsiness and grit to what you were doing. And it worked!

It did. And it's so great because it's just given me confidence in my own stuff, as well, because I saw the reaction of fans to real music and to us just being us. There was no choreography. We just went out there and sang our hearts out.

You had success everywhere from indie rock to mainstream country and pop, yet when you got the chance to finally do this solo album, your traditional country identity was fully intact. Had you ever considered going in any of these other directions?

Anything that I play a part in, I sing the same. I'm me. The core of me is country. It's what I love. It's what I write. Even when I sing pop stuff, I'm still singing it countrily. I'm singin' it my way. ... Sometimes there are so many opportunities out there that you're like, "Let's do it this way. Let's do it more ethereal. We won't put any banjo, no country instruments, on it."

I think I just was overthinking it at some points. "Just go in and don't over-think it. Go in and make a country record." And that's where my heart settled as soon as [my manager John] Grady said that: "Why don'tcha just make a country record?" It was like all the thoughts in my head just went silent. "OK, yeah, you're right. Calm down, Ashley. Just because you can do everything doesn't mean you have to."

[Kim]

CMT News

Next Women of Country: Kacey Musgraves - "Merry Go Round" Singer Tours With Little Big Town, Kenny Chesney


Kacey Musgraves

For months now, Kacey Musgraves has been making the rounds with her debut single, "Merry Go Round." Along with critical praise from Rolling Stone and National Public Radio, the thoughtful single recently reached the Top 10 on Billboard's country airplay chart.

Quickly becoming known as one of Nashville's most promising songwriters, this East Texas native is also one of CMT's Next Women of Country.

CMT.com caught up with Musgraves prior to a show in Knoxville, Tenn., where she was opening for Little Big Town. She'll begin appearing on Kenny Chesney's No Shoes Nation stadium tour on March 16 in Tampa, Fla., with dates scheduled through the summer.

CMT: What is a typical day on the road for you, or is there such a thing as a typical day?

Musgraves: No two days are alike, really. It depends if I have radio stuff to do or not. Like today, I woke up at 9:30. I had an acoustic radio performance at 11. Then I usually get some downtime after that. I try to fit in some yoga. The steel player, Adam, is a great yoga teacher. He practices all the time, so we all bring our mats, find a quiet room and do yoga.

Usually there's catering involved shortly after that. Some soundcheck, and I usually have downtime before the show to make a drink and chill out and do hair and makeup. We've been going on at 8 p.m. I feel like from the show out, it's super downhill. It's all building up to the show, and afterwards, it's like, "Whew, I can breathe."

I couldn't do what you do without a drink.

Oh, gosh, it helps! That's for sure. Before we went on Jimmy Fallon, I gave all the guys an airplane bottle of whiskey and said, "Down it! I want us to be loose."

What goes through your mind when the lights dim and you're about to walk onstage?

I'm usually the most nervous at that point, but I don't get too nervous a lot. Just words. What the first words are of the first song, the first chord. I try to remember the city name I'm in, so I don't say "Hello, Ohio!" when I'm in frickin' Montana. (laughs) That's embarrassing. It's the ultimate way to make a crowd feel unwelcome. It's like, "Sorry, I've seen 800 places!"

Little Big Town have been doing this for a while. What do you credit their longevity to?

First of all, they're amazing voices. They blend so well together. When those four people sing together, it creates this perfect chord. It's very pleasing to listen to. And they're all really, really nice. They're hard-working, and they're sweet people. And you can tell there's no ego involved. A lot of times with groups like that, you can tell that some members are trying to push ahead to be heard above the other ones. It's not like that with them. It's simply what's best for the song, and I think that's really tasteful. They all bring something different to the table.

You mentioned their work ethic. At this point, do you feel like you have to give everything you've got to build a career?

Yeah, pretty much. There are some people coming up right now that want it so bad. You have no room to slack, you know? Do I want to get up at 9 and sing? No. But do I love to sing? Yeah. It doesn't feel like work to me because I enjoy it so much. Sometimes I feel a little guilty, like, "This is my job? I get paid to hang out with people? Play music and travel, see new places?" I'm just thankful.

Now that you've been on the radio, are you seeing people singing along?

Yeah! It's been fun to see what songs people gravitate towards because I don't have an album out yet. These people are finding it on YouTube and memorizing the words. That's really cool to me. It gives me an early indicator as far as what I feel like people are going to like. People have been learning the words, and there are a few songs that are becoming increasingly known. That gets me stoked.

Any big plans for release day of your album, Same Trailer, Different Park?

There will be a Record Store Day edition on 4/20, which is cool. Yeah, we're going to do a vinyl, which I love because I'm a big collector. We'll do something fun around that day. Otherwise, the music will be out March 19. And it's two weeks until the first Kenny Chesney date, basically. I'm like, "Oh, my God, I have to get my shit together."

What are you looking forward to the most on that tour?

That's just crazy. What I do [as a performer now], I can get my point across to five people in a room with no mics and just an acoustic guitar. So how do I take that, without making it cheesy, and also reach the person in the nosebleed section? That's going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to make me a better performer. Am I going to strut the stage in a diamond-encrusted head mic? No. But it's going to be an interesting challenge. And, oh, my gosh, Kenny is the pinnacle, as far as entertaining goes, in any genre. I have a lot to learn, but it's going to be fun. He's a really nice guy.

Those are fun shows for fans, too.

Honestly, I have never been. It's pretty weird. For some reason, I equate venue size to my hometown population. It's the only way I can wrap my brain about it. The town where I went to school has about five or six thousand people. When I think about that, multiplied by however many times it takes to get to 70 to 80 to 90,000 people in one place listening, that is unreal to me. I don't know what is going to happen when I see those people for the first time.

[Kim]

CMT News

Next Women of Country: Sarah Darling - She Finds New Fans Through "Home to Me"


Sarah Darling

Sarah Darling has been connecting with country fans -- and one famous single guy in particular -- through her sweet single, "Home to Me." The lyrics resonate on a personal level, too.

"'Home to Me' is a song about finding love anywhere," Darling tells CMT Radio. "For me, it's authentic to where I am. I'm in a long-distance relationship, and when you're out on the road, it's wonderful to have that little piece of home come to you. It can be anywhere. It's not necessarily a place. It's a feeling."

Darling appeared as a surprise performer on ABC's The Bachelor this season. During one episode, she serenaded Sean Lowe and one of his dates in Whitefish, Mont.

Yes, she's following the popular show. And, yes, she did get to meet Lowe.

"Sean is a really good guy. I think that for the most part, everybody knows that," she says. "He's a down-to-earth, all-American boy. He really is like that in person. I guess it helps that this entire season, he never has his shirt on!"

Darling grew up in Iowa and cites Patsy Cline and Carrie Underwood, as well as bands like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, as significant influences. Her video for "Home to Me" has been airing on CMT as part of the network's Next Women of Country campaign.

"I feel like it's really difficult for females to break through, but I also feel like when they do, it's really big," she says. "I think it's an amazing thing that CMT is doing this because it gives the new females a chance to get to the fans. Also, we all have something to say. We're all different in our own way. I think if we keep on the path, eventually it's going to turn around, and all of a sudden, a new female's going to be on the top of the charts. We're all rooting for each other."

Darling says her new EP offers a lot of "sappy love songs," which reflects where she is in her life.

"I always say that, as a writer, if you're true to yourself, you write what you're feeling at that particular time," she says. "Some people go into a room and say, 'I want to write this hook.' I tend to be the writer who says, 'This is how I'm feeling right now. I need to write a song about this.' I've even written songs about Paris because I was going on a trip there."

She adds, "I always write about stuff that is happening in the moment. I'm guilty of that -- which I think is good. Sometimes it's really happy. Sometimes it's really sad. But I think right now, the music I'm writing is definitely the best and the happiest that it's ever been."

Darling says she discovered "Home to Me" through her producer, Dann Huff.

"He played me the song, and immediately I was drawn to it. It does reel you in immediately because it has all of these states listed in it. I mulled it over for a couple of days, then I decided to sing it at a show with my band just to try it out," she recalls. "Everyone in the show stopped, and everyone lit up, so I knew I had something special. It just clicked."

With so many states listed in "Home to Me," which one describes her personality the most?

"Oh, goodness, I'm going to say California," she replies. "I love sunshine. And, actually, people call me Little Miss Sunshine. The song says, 'Shine like California,' so I'm going with that."

[Kim]

CMT News

Next Women of Country: Rose Falcon - Singer-Songwriter Talks About 19th Avenue (Volume 2) EP



Rose Falcon


Honesty comes easily for Rose Falcon -- not only in songwriting and performing but in her overall mindset.

"A lot of times people say I have no filter, and I think the hard part is not telling the truth," she explains. "Telling the truth for me is easy and second nature."

Falcon serves as one of CMT's Next Women of Country and released her five-song EP, 19th Avenue (Volume 2) Jan. 29.

The track she's most proud of writing on her current EP is "Like Crazy," a tune in which she promises, "If you're brave enough to be my man/I'll love you like crazy/Like only crazy can."

"I wrote that by myself," she reveals. "And that's one that just really came to life in the recording process, and we were able to put a string section on it that's just really gorgeous."

Her sweet delivery and vulnerabilty are front and center on track "Take Me to Memphis" as she asks her significant other to take her to his hometown. And she shows her vocal dexterity in "Carry Me Home" while singing of God's eternal love.

Though the majority of the EP consists of ballads, Falcon sounds right at home with the feisty track "You Stole My Heart," as she takes on the role of a scorned lover seeking revenge.

Born and raised in New York City, Falcon moved with her father, singer-songwriter Billy Falcon, to Nashville at the age of 10. Growing up, she says she was "always hearing a guitar" or "always hearing a song" as her father's work was surrounding her, though she says her father never pushed her to get into the industry.

"He didn't influence me in terms of ever literally saying, 'Do you want to do this?'" she says. "He just influenced me by example."

Naming Patty Loveless as her biggest country influence, Falcon's own songwriting talent was realized at the age of 12. At that time, she approached her father with a poem she'd written and asked to record a song with him.

She signed with Columbia Records at 14, then released her pop-infused self-titled debut in 2003. Falcon parted ways with Columbia in 2005 and ultimately moved back to New York for a year. And though it's her hometown, she was surprised by the results of the move.

"It was so weird because I always just assumed, 'Oh, I must fit in here. This is where I'm from,'" she says. "But to people in New York, I was a Southerner, for sure."

She continues, "Musically, it definitely wasn't for me. I couldn't find my place. I couldn't find where I felt comfortable."

So she returned to Music City.

Prior to signing with a label in 2011, remarks from Toby Keith helped guide the artist to her ultimate label home with Show Dog-Universal Music .

"[He] said he wanted to create a label where artists could succeed or fail on their own terms," she says. "And I just thought that that was so appealing -- that I was going to get to be me and that I was going to get the chance to succeed on my terms."

Falcon also gives major kudos to Show Dog-Universal president Mark Wright.

"I've always wanted to work with him. He's an incredible producer and just a cool guy," she says. "Probably one of the main reasons that I'm there is his belief in me. When you're an artist and somebody hears your songs and you can see in their eyes that they really get it, that's one of the best feelings."

The singer-songwriter's openness crosses over to her live shows as she hopes to give fans a greater understanding of her life and music.

"I think the important thing about live performances is that when you see an artist live, you learn something about them that you didn't already know from listening to their record," she says.

"I don't like it when I go see an artist and it sounds just like the record, and they don't talk between songs. If I'm going to buy a ticket to see somebody, I want to know something more. And so I try to interact with the audience, talk a little bit, tell a little bit about my songs and kind of include them in the experience."

With her heartfelt lyrics and relatable themes of the ups and downs of relationships, Falcon says she hopes to bring comfort to listeners.

"I just hope that they find a friend in my songs, and they're able to relate to what they hear in the stories that I'm telling. Because I'm telling them from my heart."

[Kim]

CMT News

Next Women of Country: Holly Williams - Her Love of Performing Paves The Highway


Holly Williams


Holly Williams named her third album The Highway after a song she wrote about her love of being a touring performer. But the title works on another level, too, considering she's spent the past several years as a woman in a million different kinds of motion.

She's kept her high-end clothing boutique running, married a fellow musician, contributed to an album of never-before-heard songs from her grandfather, Hank Williams Sr., and taken control of her career with her first truly independent release, which she co-produced with Charlie Peacock. All that's to say, this 31-year-old singer-songwriter, who is part of CMT's Next Women of Country, has plenty to talk about.

CMT: What was it about Charlie Peacock's work, especially with the Civil Wars, that made you want to enlist him as co-producer?

Williams: I think Charlie has a really great grasp on the art of production around a song. He is also a writer and a musician and an artist himself, and sometimes it can be hard to find people who really understand that I want the lyric to shine through. I want the emotion in my voice and the story to shine through. And it doesn't have to be about a lot of instruments on things. I co-produced both [of my other] records, loved both producers. But I had a little more pressure from labels before to put on more instruments. So this time it was just so great to be able to work with someone where it was just about us sitting down and going, "What's best for the song?"

Your husband Chris Coleman is co-writing and playing guitar with you now. Wasn't he mostly known as a drummer in the past?

Yes, he was a drummer for years and talented. He played with country artists and songwriters and then he was in Luna Halo, a Nashville band. Then he joined the Kings of Leon. He plays different instruments for them on the road. ... Besides the fact that I obviously like to have him around, I've definitely come into a new musical place having him around me since he is a drummer. We'll write a lot up-tempo with the drums. We're in the house a lot together bouncing ideas off each other and playing guitar together. It's really a great musical combo.

Did you get married during the period between your albums Here With Me and The Highway?

Here With Me came out in the summer of '09, and we got married that fall. I was on tour for, I guess, about another year after that. Then he started touring with the guys [in Kings of Leon], and my store manager [at H. Audrey], who'd been with me for three years, left and moved to another city. So I had a lot of business stuff to deal with there at my clothing store.

And honestly, after I parted ways with the last major label, I was kind of confused about whether I wanted to keep writing and playing around town and putting out little indie records or really try to do a bigger release and stay out on the road. You know, that's what the song "The Highway" is about. I mean, it all came back in a really strong way. I can't stay away from the road. I want to be writing songs and singing them for people. That was really the birth of this record. ... We were talking about maybe starting a family and just doing shows regionally. And I was like, "I've gotta get back out there."

In your song "Without You," you describe things you did early on in your career, like backpacking through Europe and trying your luck in L.A. What were you looking for in those days?

Honestly, before I got married, I was pretty independent and free-spirited. I toured alone a lot. I followed Train's bus around. I literally would get out there in a car and drive around.

You mean you'd be alone in your car trailing behind a tour bus?

Yeah, I would just go out for like two weeks. I had a lot of manager friends who would say, "Hey, can you go open for this person for two weeks?" And now to think back, I went to Europe alone when I was 20 and did a month-long tour of theaters with Ron Sexsmith. ... I remember printing out the venues and figuring out how to get there. Now I'm like, "How did my parents let me do that?" I got to do and see such awesome things.

On the subject of family, do you anticipate that you'll have to explain that "Waiting on June" tells the story of your maternal grandparents -- not, say, of Johnny and June Carter Cash?

A journalist asked me a while ago, "Is this about Johnny and June?" I honestly never even thought about it. Then I was like, "Oh, well, people may think that because she was my dad's godmother and we were close to them." Or I'll say it's about my grandparents, and people will go, "Wait, she was named Audrey." I do some explaining. It's been funny because I've been doing some shows now for a few weeks, and I would not have thought a seven-minute story song would be the No. 1 most requested.

I gather that you were fairly insulated from the music business when you were young. Once you experienced what big productions Hank Jr.'s arena shows were, what kept you from wanting to try out that approach to performing?

I really think that it wasn't up to me. It was up to the songs that I was writing. ... I realized that the kinds of songs I was writing were not loud with tons of instruments needed and big massive sing-along choruses. They were based around me and a piano or me and a guitar telling a story. When I first got out, I was used to opening gigs for big country artists. I did some shows with Sugarland and different people. And while I love their music, their fans, the songwriter songs were not getting through. And then I'd go out with John Hiatt and do theaters, and I'm like, "Man, these people are sitting down and hanging on every word."

What was it like finishing a song begun by your grandfather, "Blue Is My Heart," for The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams?

It was unbelievably nerve-wracking, first of all, for one of my songwriting heroes [Bob Dylan] to be heading up the project. ... My old guitar player used to play for him, so when he came to Nashville to play -- I was probably 22 -- we met there. If he was near Nashville, I would go to his show. He was just, I mean, in love with Hank Williams. He told me stories about him that I did not even know. He said, "Hank Williams, your grandfather, was my radio. That is why I do what I do." It was so incredible to have that circle. My songwriting hero said that he was so inspired by my grandfather. He showed me the lyrics -- this was literally probably 10 years ago -- and said, "I'm going to do something with these one day, and if you want to be a part of it, I'd be honored."

Hank was one of the greatest writers of all time. He had such a simplistic style. He was able to just write these incredible songs and rip your heart out. So it was the most nerve-wracking work I've ever done by far. ... My goal was that people not be able to tell which lyrics Hank wrote and which lyrics I wrote. And if I accomplished that, then that's all good.

Your life and career were interrupted by a very bad automobile accident several years back. Once you'd recovered, why did you turn your attention to opening a clothing boutique instead of just focusing on music?

I was driving to Louisiana for my [maternal] grandfather's funeral, and the next night I was [supposed to be] flying out to Germany to start a European tour. Then that happened. My sister [Hilary Williams] died and came back to life and had 29 surgeries, was bedridden for almost two years. ... She was so sick, that's all we could think about. My head got totally out of it, and I didn't want to be away from the family. I needed to be here to take care of her. ...

I thought, "I want to have something that -- God forbid, my sister stays like this for a long time -- I don't have to rely on being gone all the time to make money." So I wrote business plans forever, got turned down a thousand times by investors and finally found one and opened it. My mom's got a full-time [accounting] job there. I've got girls in there that I love working with, and my sister helps out sometimes. So it's really become kind of a nice family business.

I think being in the wreck propelled me to recognize my life could end at any moment, and I want to make sure that I'm doing everything in my power to be doing the things I love on a daily basis. I love clothing. I love buying for people. I love styling. I got a lot of independent stylist work when I was younger. I also love music. Some people think it's crazy, but it's just making sure you get to live your passion out.