Full Transcript for Anna Graves on Finding Balance, Americana Music, and Her Nashville Songwriter Journey

Saturday return. So I feel like just really excited to kind of get this chapter of my life out. And the songs kind of range anywhere from 16 to. 00:03:18 Speaker 2: Last minute. 00:03:20 Speaker 5: Like, we need it to be mixed in a week. I'm like, can I just add one more song, please? Yeah. 00:03:26 Speaker 2: It's a beautiful collection of songs. 00:03:28 Speaker 3: You reflect on the simple joys of nature, drawing inspiration where you're from in Minnesota. As you mentioned, you were raised in a farm. You work with rescue horses. Did music come natural to you working in this environment? 00:03:45 Speaker 5: Well, I think being raised out in the country, also with a mother who is an artist, a visual artist, and always encouraged my brother and I to be creative, which I'm really grateful for. Um, I think it was always encouraged and music was something. We had an antique piano in our house and my brother got a guitar for Christmas. I think I was like seven. He was 10 and he's a serial entrepreneur now. And he, so he, um, mastered it in like two weeks and then moved on to dirt bikes. And I was like, Oh, this thing is so special. And I was playing it the wrong way. I was like playing it on the little lines, the frets. My mom's like, you need to go get guitar lesson. So music is always something that I was drawn to at a young age. And I remember always kind of thinking, I don't know how that's going to fit into like a, you know, an adult career or anything. I just knew that it made me happy. And I always kind of, even though I took breaks from it and had to explore other things in my life, which I'm glad I did, I always kind of ended up coming back to music. Yeah. 00:04:51 Speaker 3: Do you write a lot of these songs when you're home in Minnesota around the horses? 00:04:56 Speaker 5: A lot of them, yeah. You know, songs like Trail Horse, songs like Fly, Jaded Songbirds. I think there's something about the space and the quietness up there. And I've just always been really inspired by nature. And so, yeah, I definitely, when I feel like I need to refuel my creativity or write, I usually go back to Minnesota. 00:05:29 Speaker 3: And many of these songs in your catalog, they have already amassed more than 70 million global streams. 00:05:37 Speaker 2: That's what I read. That's crazy. That is crazy. 00:05:41 Speaker 3: And they've also landed major sync placements in various Netflix shows such as Nobody Wants This and NBC show Brilliant Minds. Did you ever expect that any of these songs would land placements in these TV shows? Absolutely not. That's something that's always really surreal. Even just the idea of people knowing my music is so crazy to me. I'm doing my first headline tour right now. I just finished the first week and about to go back out on Monday. It's so cool how something that comes from this tiny little place within you can expand so quickly. 00:06:19 Speaker 5: So far. And, um, I think that's so beautiful and that's why I think I love

music so much. One of the reasons at least. 00:06:26 Speaker 3: And just listening to the album, when I hear the production and the tone of your voice, I think this definitely could be in a TV show. It's definitely that kind of music that, um, could capture different audiences. 00:06:38 Speaker 5: Maybe that's because I grew up with a mom who was a visual artist. And a lot of times I'm writing songs. I, I, um, I don't know if other people do this, too, but it's kind of sometimes like you make this music video in your head for you. 00:06:49 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:06:49 Speaker 5: Who wish it happened next? Like, what do I want it to feel like? And it's visual, too, I think. 00:06:55 Speaker 2: Absolutely. 00:06:56 Speaker 3: Well, you just mentioned you're on your first ever North American headline tour, the America's Greatest Burnout Tour, making 17 city stops in North America. How have the shows been so far? Are there any stops you're most excited for? 00:07:12 Speaker 5: The shows have been amazing so far. Every night has been so special. And like I said, it's still so crazy that people even show up. I'm like, how did you even hear about the music? And it'll be like, oh, Spotify or sometimes TikTok or whatever or the show. And I think I'm most excited for my hometown show. Okay. And at the Turf Club in Minnesota. Very cool. 00:07:35 Speaker 2: What city is that in Minnesota? Minneapolis. 00:07:37 Speaker 5: Okay, great. 00:07:39 Speaker 3: Well, people can find tickets for that on your website, AnnaGravesMusic.com. As I mentioned, it's also Americana Fest week here in Nashville as we're recording this. You're performing at the East Room tonight. Have you performed at the East Room before? I have not, but I am so excited. Yeah, that'll be a great show, being rooted here in Americana Fest. And you also recently made your Grand Ole Opry debut as a part of the Opry 100 Summer Series. What was it like performing at the Opry for the first time? 00:08:11 Speaker 5: Wow, it was pretty surreal. It kind of It didn't really hit me until I was up there. And I think a lot of people say that too. It's like you have all these things that you plan to say and you just end up kind of tearing up. And it also was the day that Dolly passed too. So there was just this kind of melancholic energy. But it was beautiful. I feel like, you know, a lot of people honored Dolly that night. And I think we all felt her spirit drop by a little bit. And so it was a really, it was a bittersweet night. 00:08:43 Speaker 2: Oh, sure. 00:08:44 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:08:45 Speaker 2: Was she a major influence of yours? 00:08:46 Speaker 5: Oh, my gosh. She's the best. She's one of the best songwriters of all time, I think. 00:08:50 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:08:51 Speaker 5: She's definitely one of the best people, too. I mean, I think we all really grieve that. 00:08:55 Speaker 2: That was a movie. I know. 00:08:56 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:08:57 Speaker 2: It hit everyone so hard. 00:08:58 Speaker 5: She's such a legend. Hopefully the world will become a better place. 00:09:03 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. And she has made the world a better place for sure. Who else were some of your influences growing up? 00:09:12 Speaker 5: I loved listening to Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Tori Amess, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Jackson Browne. You know, I was raised with an appreciation for art and songwriting. And I remember asking my mom when I heard Fast Car for the first time when I was really young, why does this song make me feel so happy and sad at the same time? And I just remember her being like, hey, that's just what art does. 00:09:38 Speaker 3: Right. 00:09:38 Speaker 5: I was like, wow, that's so beautiful. Um, so I'm grateful that I get to do what I do and, and, um, you know, I think that I'm just excited to, to keep doing it. 00:09:52 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:09:52 Speaker 2: All great influences. I can hear them in your music. 00:09:55 Speaker 3: And, another big person, I heard that Stevie Nicks personally picked you to open for her. 00:10:02 Speaker 5: Yes. Tell me about that experience. That was, it was just incredible. um she's magical and and real and authentic and i'm inspired by her art i'm inspired by her philanthropy and and uh and meeting her was surreal she touched my hair so this side so you know um yeah it's just she's incredible and just washing her up there really inspires me to to make sure i take good care of So I can have longevity in my career and be touring years from now. And I think it's so beautiful that she's created this world that's just an expansion of herself. And she's still dancing and singing in that world decades later. And it's really inspiring to watch. 00:10:50 Speaker 2: That's incredible. So what venue were you opening for her at? 00:10:54 Speaker 5: I opened for her in Indianapolis and then in Minneapolis, too, at the Grand Casino Arena, which was a hometown venue. show. And so that was really cool. I played a song about Minnesota at the end and everyone took out their phones. And I'll never forget that night. It was so cool, too. The night before we had these crazy northern lights, like red northern lights in the sky, which is so rare. 00:11:20 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:11:20 Speaker 5: And I just remember sitting on the hill and And it was cold, but we're Minnesotans. That doesn't bother us. But I think everyone was sure that Stevie brought those. 00:11:30 Speaker 2: Oh, wow. 00:11:30 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:11:31 Speaker 5: That's beautiful. 00:11:32 Speaker 3: What a true honor to open for her, especially with the Northern Lights. So Minnesota, that's one of the songs on your new album. What other songs on the album have you seen fans connect to the most? 00:11:46 Speaker 5: It's really cool. It's always different. 00:11:48 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:11:49 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:11:49 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:11:51 Speaker 5: You know, I'm playing a 75-minute set, but every night there's always someone that comes up

and like, ah, you didn't play my favorite song. I'm so sorry. Next time, I promise. It's honestly what's really cool about seeing this record, you know, kind of do its thing is people are connecting to different songs. So that's cool. I think what I connect to most on the record is probably Jaded Songbirds just because that song was so therapeutic to write. And that was also the last song that I wrote on the record. Um, and it kind of, to me is the, the center of when the record means. And, um, and you know, I, I just, I love playing that song live too. 00:12:35 Speaker 3: I think my favorite is burn on so far. 00:12:38 Speaker 5: I love that was the one I wrote when I was 16. Wow. That's amazing. 00:12:42 Speaker 3: Who did you collaborate with, um, on this album in the studio and the studio? I know you had some big names, uh, play on the songs. 00:12:52 Speaker 5: I mean, I was really lucky. I feel like I, you know, working, uh, with Davis Nash, um, my producer on the record, um, and then, you know, other collaborators that I really, really highly respect. Um, it felt so cool when we, you know, cause we kind of cut demos of the whole record and, and it was really hard to pick songs for it too, because I, I, I write so often. Um, That was the hardest part. And then I think the first... Sorry, I didn't ask this, but I'm just going to say it anyways. The hardest part of making a record is picking the songs and then also sequencing it. For some reason, I didn't know there was such an art to that. But it was so cool. Actually, the day after Stevie Nicks, I got to... party with her band and the venue, which was so cool. Um, and cause I'm fans of all of them. And, um, so that was really surreal. And so I didn't sleep and I went back to the hotel, packed up my stuff and then flew to LA then that morning and drove right to the studio. And, um, cut the record and so it was just like I was still tired and and it was just a it was a wild experience but that's. 00:14:11 Speaker 3: Very cool yeah there really is an art to sequencing an album um was that ordering it was that most of your doing or did you have help from team for. 00:14:20 Speaker 5: That I think I went through like 10 different sequences so um and I definitely you know we We kind of worked on it together. And then I, of course, I always do this. I ended up changing it last minute. Yeah, everyone who works with me, I feel very bad for them. I'm a big change my mind minute kind of girl. But, you know, I'd like to think that it's for a reason. 00:14:50 Speaker 3: Yeah, it ended up landing in the order it. 00:14:53 Speaker 5: Was supposed to. America's Greatest Burnout. 00:14:56 Speaker 3: Everyone can listen to it on their streaming platforms. Anna, my last question for you today. We're on Taking a Walk Nashville, and I know you come into Nashville quite a bit. What has been your most memorable collaboration or experience in Nashville? 00:15:15 Speaker 5: I mean, there's so many amazing collaborators here. First of all, you could throw a rock out the window and hit an incredible musician. I... I can't pick a favorite collaboration. They're all special in their own ways. What's cool about writing a song is, you know, my memory is not great. But I feel like you always remember the day when you wrote a song and how you felt that day. And it's such a cool kind of photograph in your memory. But I mean, my favorite experiences, I really do have so many. I think one of them was doing my album release party at the Bluebird Cafe just because that was such a special place. And I remember when I was 16, I came to Nashville for the first time and I stood in line for like an hour to play the Bluebird. And the line was so long, I didn't even get in. But I always kind of said like, you know, one day if I keep doing this and I put out an album one day, I want to have my party there. And so that was cool, kind of making one of my dreams come true. And the Opry also was incredible. 00:16:24 Speaker 2: Absolutely. 00:16:25 Speaker 3: You've played such iconic venues here in Nashville, opened for some amazing people. I can't wait to see what's next for you with this new album, America's Greatest Burnout. 00:16:38 Speaker 2: You're on your tour. People can find tickets on AnnaGravesMusic.com. 00:16:43 Speaker 3: Anna, thank you so much for being with me on Taking a Walk Nashville today. 00:16:47 Speaker 5: Thank you for having me. 00:16:50 Speaker 4: I'm Buzz Knight, and thanks for listening to Sarah Harrelson and Taking a Walk Nashville. produced by Buzz Night Media Productions. Please check out our other shows, Music Saved Me and Comedy Saved Me, both hosted by Lynn Hoffman, and Takin' a Walkin' Jersey Made, both hosted by yours truly. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and are part of the iHeart Podcast Network.