Lucky Me

From September 28


I have been back in Nashville now for almost a week. As the plane landed at BNA last Monday afternoon, I was overcome with an unexpected feeling of nostalgia. Descending into the lush, green and gold trees of fall, I just couldn't wait to get back out onto the city streets, hug my old friends, drive by my old houses, eat at my favorite restaurants, and just soak in the remnants of the old life I once had here.
It has been an amazing week. My main purpose for coming back has been to record my second album. It has been nothing short of an emotional process. After running through songs on the first night in town I was feeling really nervous and anxious about everything. Would my new songs be good enough? Would the band be into them and have fun playing them? Will anyone care about what I'm inspired by these days? The plague of self doubt might be one of life's cruelest curses. Luckily, my dear friend Jen stayed up with me late into the night to talk it out. At the end of the conversation she said, ' This record is as honest as you can be about this part of your life' and suddenly, I was ready.
Being in the studio with the kind of musicians who played on this project is really overwhelming. It's a genius that I can't quite properly describe to those who have never seen it in action. But I will say that there is no feeling like playing your little acoustic guitar vocal to a room full of brilliant players and watching them transform it into something huge and beautiful and so perfectly fitting for what you intended the song to say. The record is again being produced by Matt Mangano and I am so thankful for it. He is a wizard. And in addition to all the magic he brings to the table, I've gotten to spend the week with Brandon Bell, Ben Shive, Justin Rosolino, Lucas Reynolds, Josh Robinson and Danny Byrne- and for one shining day- Stan Sonu. It's just the craziest thing. But I am thankful every minute for every part of it.
I got home late last night and was so tired but just couldn't sleep. I was still buzzing from the events of the week, from our last day tracking, from listening to the actual rough mixes that really are going to one day make it out into the world. I wanted to sit down and write thank you letters to everyone, to try and make these people understand that I will never, ever take for granted the fact that they shared their gifts with me. Instead I re-read some parts of 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert (it's a great book, btw) and the last paragraph sent me to bed. It reads, 'In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it is wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices"
I am such a lucky girl and I can't wait for you all to hear this record.
It's great to be back in Nash.