I got to sit down with the hosts of Local on 2 along with songwriter Jillian Dawn to discuss the new theatre production She Believed She Could. I was the Music Director and Composer for this production at the Woolworth Theatre in downtown Nashville, and it was amazing to re-create so many iconic recordings for this residency. Going though this material and determining what elements I was going to ask the band to stay faithful to and what elements needed an update was a fun creative challenge...recording technology and musical trends have changed drastically over the 50-year-span of these hits, and it was eye-opening to put on headphones and dive into the details of all of these tracks. We packed 8 songs into a double session, and despite the time crunch I love the versions of these songs that I was able to craft for this production. The band was an incredible group of players and they really knocked it out of the park.
I also loved getting to work on a residency that highlights the great impact that female artists have had on country music. We got to discuss the current controversial business practices that are artificially limiting the reach of women in this genre, and why those limits should be re-examined. Watch the full interview here:
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