Back in high school,when I was still actively trolling the iTunes free singles of the week, I downloaded Dave Barnes’ free “Very Merry Christmas” on a whim. At 16, I had been playing piano for ten years and writing music for three, but I never saw much future in it for myself. I wasn’t writing country songs or the kinds of pop songs I heard on the radio, and I didn’t see much of a market for my kind of music (past my parents and some friends that always got reeled into listening to my latest song).

I’ve never instantly connected to music the way I did Dave Barnes’ music. I quickly bought as much of his stuff as I could find, and then scoured the “Artists similar to..” and found Ben Rector, Andrew Ripp, Steve Moakler, and more. 16-year old me felt like I had found the musical jackpot. I listened to their stuff non-stop, and meanwhile kept writing- starting to get the notion in my head that there could be a place for me in music after all.  

Five years later, I sat in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center for Dave Barnes’ Christmas Show, as a new Nashville resident pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter/ artist. As more artists that I grew up with musically stopped by (Ben Rector, Gabe Dixon, Jon McLaughlin and many more) I felt like I was back in high school, falling in love with music in new ways all over again.

These artists are not the only reason I’m here following this dream of mine (my supportive family and friends, hard work and a whole lot of blessings helped too), but they did help me find musical direction and ignite a passion for storytelling through song. I’m very thankful to them, and hope that maybe one day I can give someone else that same gift.

They also inspired me to keep working, so I’ll stop talking and get to that now.