Playing Hoxeyville Music Festival today, the Americana/bluegrass star is crisscrossing the U.S. behind her latest album. The Artist Spotlight feature and Local Spins on WYCE radio show podcast.
Inspired by May Erlewine and Rachael Davis: Lindsay Lou treasures her Michigan roots and friends. (Photo/Dana Kalachnik)
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After spending nearly 10 years in Nashville, Lindsay Lou has become a nationally acclaimed star of the bluegrass and Americana scene while touring nearly non-stop across the country.
But make no mistake: She treasures her Michigan roots, especially the impactful, lifelong friendship of two iconic singer-songwriters from the Great Lakes State — May Erlewine and Rachael Davis.
“May and Rachael they’re my friends and my bandmates, but I really do think that they are just national treasures. And when I am having a hard time and I need some comfort, the first thing I do is I put on May’s music,” said Lindsay Lou, who performs and records with Erlewine and Davis as part of the harmony-laden Sweet Water Warblers.
Grounded in Michigan, Growing in Nashville: Lindsay Lou (Photo/Dana Kalachnik)
“It gives me that feeling of not being alone and feeling like I can make it through whatever I’m going to make it through. It just really is such a comfort to me. And as I’ve been a person who’s been growing into my voice, Rachel was somebody that I looked to so much as just this epic voice, somebody who had really had full power and glory in their voice.”
She also praised Michigan’s Earthwork Music collective and its founder, Seth Bernard.
“You’ll always be able to hear them in my music. Seth’s commitment to environmental and social justice and May’s commitment to personal growth and Rachael’s commitment to levity and vocal prowess — all of those things are a part of who I am. They come out in my music.”
That music also boasts some healing power when it comes to the deeply personal songs on Lindsay Lou’s latest album, “Queen of Time” — a recording that’s keeping her on the road throughout 2024 and has her back in Michigan to play tonight at the final edition of the Hoxeyville Music Festival in Wellston, where Erlewine also is scheduled to perform.
“The record was really cathartic for me. I felt like when I released it that I could release a lot of the things that I had been going through,” she said. “I made a serious intention to always go and talk with people after the shows because it is kind of a really deeply personal and healing record.
“I just wanted to connect with people who were connecting with it, and I was really happy to hear how it had worked its way into people’s healing journey — people who had experienced loss and were in the grieving process. Just to learn how the record had been a companion to them during those times. And to be able to give those people hugs and meet everyone and get to see how it had been moving through people’s lives was really meaningful for me.”
It’s one reason why she’s kept up a rigorous touring schedule, one that’s included high-profile appearances at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the Red Wing Roots Festival and Blue Ox Music Festival, among others.
VIDEO: Lindsay Lou, “On Your Side (Starman)” Live from Mission Ballroom
‘SINGING FOR PEOPLE’ ON TOUR, DOING SESSION WORK IN NASHVILLE
The singer won’t spend long in her home state this time around: She flies out Saturday to Montana, where she’ll play the Targhee Bluegrass Festival on Sunday.
“I like being able to see the country and meet people from all over. I like being able to play my songs and sing for people,” she insisted. “You’ve got to travel around … so that you can be always doing it for new people. My favorite thing about touring is singing for people.
“And the hardest part is getting there, just the logistics. … It can be really trying, but I have found ways to make it as easy on myself as possible. And I think I’m in a pretty healthy place with it.”
The one-time leader of Michigan bluegrass band Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys has established herself not only as a respected solo act but also as go-to session artist in Nashville.
Singing With Her Inspirational Friends: The Sweet Water Warblers (Photo/Anna Sink)
“Nashville gives me the opportunity to do a lot of session work that I wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do. Different producers in town will hire me to come sing on people’s records,” she noted, adding that Nashville “already felt like home” when she first moved there 10 years ago, partly because Davis already was there and Michigan bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings arrived soon after.
“I have this community of people that are on the same circuit as me and to be able to come home to the same place that many of them are also going home to, just felt like, I don’t know, comforting and grounding and gave me a lot of opportunities to grow as an artist and collaborate with people who I admire and love.
“Just the community is really the biggest thing. My Nashville community and the Michigan community and the connections between them, I feel like I’ve been able to sort of stay grounded in Michigan while I’m growing in Nashville.”
That continued growth — highlighted by a December 2023 Rolling Stone article that described her as “the next bluegrass queen” — likely will include the release of a new recording of Lindsay Lou tracks sometime in 2025, with the singer-songwriter hoping to get into the studio before the end of the year.
“I’ve got a whole album’s worth of songs,” she pointed out. “I just need to put one foot in front of the other and make some decisions about what the next thing is going to be. I think I know what it is, but it’s hard when you’re an artist. Sometimes, you have a couple ideas and you want to do everything, but (you’ve) got to pick the thing. So we’ll see.”
This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE (which focuses on music by Michigan artists at 11 a.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org) highlighted a brand new single featuring Lindsey Lou — a collaboration with The California Honeydrops on “Fall In Love Again” — along with the track, “On Your Side (Starman),” from “Queen of Time.”
In addition, this week’s radio show featured fresh music from other Michigan artists: Billy Strings, Mystique, Luke Winslow-King, Silver Creek Revival, Billy Gunther & The Midwest Riders, Jason Cross, Izzy Joy, Singing Lungs and Sammie Hershock. Listen to show podcast here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (8/9/24)
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