Jesse Terry

If you’re an artist looking for a break in Nashville, chances are you’ll play at least once at the Bluebird Café, the city’s unofficial woodshed for raw country talent. Jesse Terry has performed his fair share of showcases at the Bluebird, which has helped to establish him as one of Nashville’s most promising up-and-comers. The singer-songwriter crafts big, soulful country music polished to a shine in the studio. “The Runner” is a tale of restlessness, where yawning guitar riffs, piano pangs and the mournful warble of lap steel bear the chorus up. Dark and sultry, “Devil May Dance” explores infidelity and the bottle. “AM static on the radio / Looking for last night’s clothes,” Terry sings over the wail of an organ and electric guitar. Trading alcohol-fueled fire for a more contemplative sobriety, “Edges” takes the production down a notch, letting a poignant guitar and dusty percussion do the talking. Terry’s got a lot of material, and the talent to become one of country’s great storytellers.

Colt Ford is living proof that good things happen in threes.

No sooner was he grabbing kudos for his nomination on the April 3rd broadcast of the Academy of Country Music Awards show in Las Vegas, than he was lauded for co-writing Jason Aldean‘s red-hot hit “Dirt Road Anthem.” On May 3rd, Ford released a new album Every Chance I Get, that gives him plenty of chances to show off his musical range and build his ever-increasing fan base.

“I had this guy in $300 jeans telling me I’m not country,” said ACM nominee Ford with a laugh. “I said ‘Really?’ I guess you think of country a bit different than I do.’”

Those that think Ford’s “country rap” style isn’t genuine should talk to Hank Williams Jr., who invited Ford on his Rowdy Friends Tour along with Charlie Daniels, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Eric Church and the many other artists who work with Ford when they get the chance.

Take Aldean, a good friend of Ford’s. Although Colt had recorded “Dirt Road Anthem,” he was enthused when Aldean followed suit, putting his own spin on the song.

“Jason is one of those guys who can relate to the song. He’s authentic and he made the song sound just like him…That’s just great,” said Ford, noting that he and Aldean both grew up as small town country boys. “He’s one of my close friends. Of course when we talk, we don’t talk [business]. We talk football, fishing, trucks, all those things we both like.”

One of those things, though, may well be country music legend George Jones, who gets a special call out in “Dirt Road Anthem.” “When you think about driving down the road swerving and smoking, you just think of George Jones,” said Ford likely speaking for most country music fans. “It just made sense.”

It also made sense for Ford—who loves the variety of sounds in country music—to invite his friends to join him on the latest record. He spent plenty of time writing songs that would match up well with his guests.

Consider the song “Twisted,” which is all about a small town boy struggling with mixed emotions as he plans to go to a big city university and try to be a football star. So many of the references about sweet tea and other points of small town life would be lost to many, but for guest artist, small town guy and football fan Tim McGraw, they arguably resonated.

“That’s probably one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” said Ford. “I want to tell kids that it’s cool to be a country kid. You can be cool and sure of yourself without your pants hanging down. I think that’s why a lot of parents can relate to it.

“The thing is, I believe in God, family, friends and hard work. I can’t not be who I am.”

Country fans are glad of that!

Check out the track listing and featured guests on Ford’s new album:

1. “Country Thang” featuring Eric Church

2. “Work It Out” featuring Luke Bryan

3. “Waste Some Time” featuring Nappy Roots and Nic Cowan

4.”‘Do It With My Eyes Closed” featuring Josh Thompson

5. “This Is Our Song” featuring Danny Boone of Rehab

6. “Titty’s Beer” featuring Trent Tomlinson

7. “She Wants to Ride in Trucks” featuring Craig Morgan

8. “Pipe the Sunshine In” featuring Tyler Farr

9. “Every Chance I Get”

10. “What I Call Home” featuring JB & The Moonshine Band

11. “Overworked & Underpaid” featuring Charlie Daniels

12. “Skirts & Boots” featuring Frankie Ballard

13. “Twisted” featuring Tim McGraw

Find out more about Colt Ford’s new record, tour and other news on his Web site.

The Band Perry‘s fans really know how to win the hearts of the three siblings —they say it with candy!

Kimberly, the sour drop fan; Reid, the one who loves mini Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups; Neil, who can’t get enough of Whoopers, say the fans bring the food to meet and greets and other events, and that puts them in touch with the fans.

“We always sign [autographs] for a couple hours after shows,” Reid said. “It’s great when they bring those!”

Chances are good that the Perry siblings will have almost more sweet and sour treats than they can handle in the coming weeks now that they are on Tim McGraw‘s Emotional Traffic Tour that features Luke Bryan.

The Band Perry started the tour just days after they won the awards for Best New Artist of the Year and Top New Vocal Group or Duo at the Academy of Country Music Awards on April 3rd in Las Vegas.

“We had never seen a Tim McGraw concert until we started opening for him,” said Kimberly, noting they grew up in Greeneville, Tenn., and large concert arenas were a distance from them. “Where we grew up, I don’t remember his tour [coming near our hometown]. But we listened to his music all the time.”

And they recently discovered McGraw has listened to theirs!

That came about when they met McGraw and his wife Faith Hill at the Country Music Association Awards. They also met Vince Gill and  other musical heroes but Kimberly confirmed she was “speechless and starstruck” upon meeting McGraw—especially when the longtime superstar  said he knew the Band Perry

Of course, with their song “You Lie” burning up the charts, it’s difficult not to know these 20-somethings.

“‘You Lie’ is really a different flavored song than any other we have done,” said Kimberly. “When we heard it, we knew we could really, really wrap our arms around it.”

The song was written by a family that the Perry siblings said are among their closest friends—the Henningsen family.

And there might soon be more musical magic brewing between them.  The Perry siblings said the Illinois-based Henningsens will soon join them on the road for songwriting sessions.

Kimberly noted that when she and her brothers perform,  they often see many fans singing along to “You Lie” and the band’s No. 1 hit that Kimberly wrote, “If I Die Young.” She’s taken a page from McGraw’s book and often leans down and touches fans’ outstretched hands as a way to even further connect with them when the trio performs.

“We have gotten [a few dates] under our belts opening for Tim,” said Kimberly. “He’s been incredibly gracious. It’s all just surreal.”

Find out more about The Band Perry, including their upcoming concert dates, on their Web site.

In the months since famed producer T-Bone Burnett introduced The Secret Sisters, the Muscle Shoals, Alabama sisters have won thousands of hearts—and fans—with their brand of country music and their down-home personalities.

“I have been making music for over 40 years and The Secret Sisters album is as close to pure as it gets,” Burnett has said.

“Listening to The Secret Sisters sing, you hear in their voices a sound that is timeless and of the moment. You hear the history of rural American music from the 1920s and a reverence for every musical genre this country has produced. Popular music requires the absolute honesty of The Secret Sisters, and I’m thrilled to be involved in presenting them to the world.”

Laura and Lydia Rogers have spent a great deal of time talking to the news media about their backgrounds (harmonizing in church; a musically inclined family), their influences (everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Everly Brothers to classic country stars including Johnny Cash), to the happenstance Nashville audition that led to their discovery, but fans hunger for more about the just-turned-20-something sisters.

Now touring with Amos Lee, Loretta Lynn and others behind their self-titled debut album, the sisters chatted with OurStage to answer a bevy of questions about their backgrounds, their new-found fame, and just what inspired their classic style.

OS: What is the first song you ever heard that you wanted to buy?

Laura: When we were younger, our parents had the music we were raised on. I think the first one I bought—back in the days of cassette tapes—was a [Frankie Valli & the] Four Seasons tape.

Lydia: I was all into Mariah Carey and Hanson and Paula Abdul. I didn’t have any money, but when I did I probably bought one of those.

OS: Who was your first celebrity crush?

Laura: Mine was Michael Jackson. I would sit and cry because I loved him so much.

Lydia: Mine was the Backstreet Boys. I loved Nick Carter and all the guys from that band.

OS: What is your guilty musical pleasure?

Laura: I have the tendency turn my nose up at pop and have a bad attitude (about it) but I’m telling you when I come across Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, I love their music.

Lydia: I am a fan of Lil’ Wayne. He’s the only hip hop rapper guy I can stand all the time. That’s a confession!

OS: Where is your favorite place to shop?

Laura: I’m one of those weird girls who loves to furnish my house rather than buy clothes. I go shop for kitchen utensils, new plates, pillows. I always spend money on house things. I love Crate & Barrel.

Lydia: Urban Outfitters. I’m a big fan of that store. And I love Target. I don’t mind saying that. They have good bargains and it’s a great place to shop.

OS: What is your oddest fan encounter?

Lydia: I think both of our oddest was when we were in Texas on tour with Willie Nelson. This lady was pregnant and she wanted us to sign her belly! She came up and said “Would you sign my baby?” I was looking around for a kid and she pulled her shirt up. We do what we have got to do!

OS: Who is the most famous person’s email address that you have?

Lydia: We have Jack White’s email address. What’s even weirder to have is cell phone numbers. We have Martina McBride’s.

OS: When you are on tour, what’s the main item you miss from home?

Laura: Our mama’s country cooking! When we were in Europe we were sitting in fancy restaurants eating nice European meals. Lydia asked me if I could eat anything what would it be? I said fried potatoes and corn bread.

OS: What’s the one negative about fame that people don’t realize?

Lydia: How much time it takes! You lose so much time and you work about 30 minutes a day. Everybody sees that and thinks your job is so easy because you perform 30 minutes, you travel so many places and it’s a unique job. But you’re also never in your own bed, you live out of a suitcase and you are homesick and exhausted. I think that has been a really tough adjustment.

OS: Have you ever asked another musician for an autograph?

Laura: When you’re a musician it feels strange, but we have definitely done it.

Before we started [as musicians] we were huge Brandi Carlile fans. We went to see her a few years back and did the whole thing fan. Now we’re going on tour with her! I hope she doesn’t remember I took a picture with her and was a total fan girl!

The Secret Sister are on tour. Find out concert and other news on their Web site.

Life is all about what you make it.

Anyone who needs evidence of that need only turn to Kasey Buckley and Amanda Watkins, know collectively as Miss Willie Brown, who are currently on their first major tour—in support of Dierks Bentley—behind their just-released EP. Listening to the lush harmonies and elegant arrangements of their country songs one can be forgiven for thinking the duo was born into music.

“People tell us ‘Wow, Nashville is treating you guys good,’” said Buckley just before the two left on their current tour. “‘You look so much better. How do you have so much energy?’ It’s because I don’t have to serve ribs today!’”

Texas native Buckley met Watkins, who hails from West Virginia, when the two took jobs as waitresses in Los Angeles. Although they both admit to being bone weary as they worked to support themselves while trying to break into their careers, they found their way to each other as friends and then as co-writers of country songs.

“It just literally wasn’t a decision. It is just what happened. We gravitated naturally toward country,” said Buckley. “It wasn’t like ‘We should start a rock band.’ We started writing songs…and it just came naturally to us.”

Their friendship also formed in much the same way.

“That was not a coincidence but something that is beyond us,” she said of the happenstance meeting. “Our relationship is proof there is a God…We were brought together for a reason.”

Fans would likely say that reason is pure country music, as evidenced by the songs on their recently released self-titled EP. The four songs on the EP, produced by Keith Stegall (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, George Strait), has plenty of contemporary funk but is filled with a down-home passion that puts one in mind of queens of country including Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire. The duo share writing credits on each song and take turns on lead vocals.

Although the two each enjoyed music through their lives,  neither set of parents were musicians or in the music business. The parents of both women did encourage them to pursue their professional dreams.

For Watkins, who grew up listening to Waylon Jennings, Bob Seger and other greats, and began singing in church, the goal was always music. Although Buckley, a fan of soul and hip hop, saw herself as an actor and dancer, meeting Watkins about  three and a half years ago switched her pursuits to music.

Although happenstance brought the two together and jumpstarted their careers, both insist that they carefully tend their music.

“We feel like our music is much further along than acts that have been doing this as long as we have,” said Buckley. “From day one, we’ve been very, very, very particular about how our show came together, the musicians we use, our set list,” she said. “We are still extremely anal retentive because we want to do the best job we can to entertain the crowds as much as possible.”

Think the two will soon forget their hometown roots. Not a chance. As they prepared for their first “bus call”—getting on the bus and taking off on tour— Watkins’ parents Mardee and Roger Watkins, were there to wave them off.

“My parents are always so supportive,” said Watkins. “That the reason I am here. I told them ‘I don’t want to go to college. I want to sing.’ They gave me the chance to flourish at something I love.”

Miss Willie Brown is currently working on their debut album and touring with Dierks Bentley. For more information and news, check their Web site.

Randy Rogers, who fronts the band that bears his name, didn’t take it lightly when they received a nomination for Top Vocal Group from the Academy of Country Music.

Just before heading to Las Vegas for the April 3 event, hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton, Rogers said that the nomination was one of the highlights of his career. He didn’t even focus on the award. Other nominees in that category are Little Big Town, the Band Perry, the Zac Brown Band and the award winner Lady Antebellum.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it means the world to us,” says Rogers of the nomination. “It’s a huge deal for all of us, the band and crew. My parents [came] to Vegas for it. It’s a huge, huge deal to us. We’ve taken a different path when it comes to the national spotlight.”

The band has truly carved its path the old-fashioned way during its 10-year career, playing 200-plus concerts a year, charity events and appearing on late night television. The nod for the award in one of the most prestigious nationally recognized categories makes Rogers and his team feel as if all the hard work has paid off.

The band is also set apart from some others because they make it a point to constantly interact with fans during meet-and-greets and through social media. Rogers and his team take pride in having solid relationships with the fan base.

“I’m proud to bear the flag and wave the flag of the hard working acts out there,” said Rogers. “A lot of them don’t have label support like we do. A lot of them are putting out indie records and earning their fan bases. That is what we’ve done. Time with our fans is time well spent.”

Although it’s a fairly open secret that Texas-based bands may have a harder time making it than those in Nashville, the Randy Rogers Band has had some high-level fans—including Willie Nelson and Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel—rooting for them.

Rogers even mentions that he’s discussed recording with Nelson and Benson but it’s too soon to tell if that will materialize when the band begins pre-production for their eighth studio album this summer. If they do it, though, they won’t be shooting for a high charting record although they’d love to have one.

“We have been talking about that in the front lounge of the bus,” said Rogers. “I don’t think we ever tried too hard and I don’t think we are trying too much this time. We never had a radio hit. This will be the eighth record we are going to make and we’re just going to be us.

“Every time I’m writing a song, I won’t be thinking about a possible radio hit or if it would make a catchy tune on the radio. I’m going to write a record for us, that we want to play every night and that represents our band and who we are.”

The Randy Rogers Band are on tour. For concert and other information, check their Web site.

The Avett Brothers truly do bluegrass proud.

That means more than releasing great music. The band also servers as something akin to ambassadors to bluegrass, bringing it to an array of audiences including during high-profile gigs such as when they teamed with Bob Dylan and Mumford & Sons to rock the recent 53rd GRAMMY Awards.

“This is our 10th year, 2011,” says band member Bob Crawford. “Every year that passes, we get more comfortable. That’s not a bad thing. And the band plays better and better and we’re always more of a family. With all the years that pass, we get closer and closer. All that is new is old and we’re still doing it. That’s the breaking news. Ten years and still going.”

Modesty likely keeps Crawford from mentioning the other “breaking news” —the music from the band is more widely received than that of most other bluegrass bands, thus widening the musical playing field for other artists. You can confirm that just by watching how the Avett Brothers move easily around American root music. One week they may play at the annual DelFest in Cumberland, MD., with founder and headliner bluegrass legend Del McCoury. Not long after, they take the stage at the Los Angeles’ Staples Center for the GRAMMY Awards, melding their sound with artists in other corners of roots.

Photo by Todd Roeth

The secret, one suspects, is the musical backgrounds of each of the members.

Consider Avett Brothers’ founders Seth and Scott Avett. They were well schooled by their father Jim Avett, a noted songwriter and singer whose sound was born from the music and spirit  of Bob Dylan, Tom T. Hall and Merle Haggard.  That means love of the music comes first.

“I told the boys early on,” Jim Avett told “Country Music Pride,” “play it the way you play it, and if it’s good, if it’s entertaining, then folks will come to hear you. If not, then we’ll sit here on the front porch and entertain ourselves.”

Perhaps that’s one reason the Avett Brothers have left the album-a-year system. They’ve taken more control of their schedules to balance time with their growing families, tour commitments, special projects and writing and recording. The balance has certainly made their sound more deeply textured, said Crawford.

“Now we’re on a longer cycle and [write] more songs and that means more time with the songs to mature and grow,” he said. “For us this is just the next step, whatever that is.”

That means that Rick Rubin’s role as producer — on both the band’s past album “I and Love and You” — and their upcoming album is always shifting. His embrace of the fluid style the Avett Brothers embrace makes him a key player in the creative process, says Crawford.

“He listens to [our music] and gives us an opinon of someone not in the room,” said Crawford of the synergy the band has with the famed producer. “A common refrain from him is ‘Whatever you want to do, however much you want me or don’t want me, I’m on board and flexible.’”

That has given the group plenty of breathing room which they believe will even take their music to a new place.

“We hope this looks back and looks ahead at the same time,” said Crawford of the album for which no release date has been determined. “And that’s going to be a real subjective call for the listener. So far we haven’t strayed so far (from what we’ve done in the past)… but we’ll see.”

For more information about the Avett Brothers, including their tour schedule, go to their Web site.

Eilen Jewell knows that the wide open country, about which Loretta Lynn and other classic country stars sing, isn’t gone.

The Idaho-born Boston transplant feels such a power with those images that she wrote much of her upcoming album while holed up in a shack in the Idaho mountains. Like clean air and the smell of nature, that’s the only place to really find the genuine vibe needed to create the country music album she plans to release this summer.

“What I did was take about ten days and went to this little shack in the mountains in Idaho where there was no electricity or running water and no distractions,” Jewell says. “I  just wrote for a solid week. I tried to write a sketch of a song in the morning and one at night. A lot of them were inspired by what I was feeling and seeing at that time, so there’s a lot of western imagery. It reminds me of where I grew up and makes me more than a bit homesick.”

Although she’s based on the east coast, Jewell found her country music calling in the west. That’s where she became a self-professed lover of pedal steel and immersed herself in the songs of Loretta Lynn and other classic country artists.

After honing her skills in such modest venues as Farmers’ Markets in and around New Mexico, Jewell arrived on the national scene with her 2007 release Letters from Sinners & Strangers, that soared to the Top 10 on Americana radio charts. The 2009 album Sea of Tears won critical acclaim as did her 2010 album Butcher Holler, a side project that is her tribute to Lynn and her legendary fifty-year career.

Songs on the Butcher Holler album are Jewel’s interpretations of such classic Lynn songs as “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (with Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “You Ain’tWoman Enough (to Take My Man).” Yet while Jewell’s stamp is on these versions, they’re close enough renderings to let you know she’s—well, paying tribute—to Lynn.

“It is a bit of a double-edged sword,” says Jewell. “You don’t want to sound too imitative and you don’t want to sound like you’re making it into something it’s not. I don’t really like [to hear cover] songs when the artists change the song for novelty sake. I’d rather err on the side of the faithful but I also didn’t want to sound like Eilen Jewell imitating Loretta Lynn.”

Special kudos to Jewell for making the vocals just what she intended. That was arguably challenging  because Jewel’s original music is accented with touches that lead back to her love of  ’60′s girl groups including the Shirelles and Roni Spector & the Ronettes.

But, of course, not too much.

“To me [country music] is like the wolf or the eagle. You don’t see them in many places but they are not extinct. They are part of America life,” she says. “It’s like Kenny Rogers singing. You may not hear it all the time, but it doesn’t mean it is dead. It is still there. It is still part of my life.”

Sara Evans was singing “A Little Bit Stronger” at a recent concert when she saw a man toward the front of the audience looking right at her and weeping.

The power of the song she chose as the centerpiece of her March release, Stronger, just underscored how grateful she was to be back with new music.

“When he was looking at me, crying, he had a little smile on his face, too, as if to say ‘I love this song. It means the world to me right now,’” said Evans.”I hated that he was going through something so hard, but I get so much joy as artist and entertainer really connecting with the fans in that way.”

That’s one reason Evans feels that recording the new studio album, her first in six years, was not only fun, but a of a homecoming, too. Although Evans continued to play concerts, write books and educate fans about her passions including the American Red Cross, the hiatus from writing and recording made her feel as if something was missing.

Yet her life was so filled with changes through those years, she had no choice but to leave writing and recording behind for a while. After weathering a high-profile divorce while continuing to raise her three children in a positive environment, Evans found love. When she and football-star-turned-sportscaster Jay Barker married, they settled in Birmingham, Ala. with their blended family of seven children.

“I never intended to take such a long break between studio albums. Life just happened, and I still toured and worked on writing novels but the music had to go on the back burner for awhile,” said Evans who released her latest novel, Softly and Tenderly, in January. “My No. 1 priority is always, no matter what, my family, then my friends and then my career. I have been accused of focusing too much on my career, but that’s honestly not the case. I always put my husband and my children first.”

That doesn’t mean, though, that she didn’t feel a tug to return to writing and recording.

Although she was joyful as opportunities arose to do just that, she was filled with a bit of apprehension, too.

“I spent a whole lot of time writing songs, searching for songs and getting songs from Nashville,” she said. “At time, it was frustrating. I knew I was going to make this record but I had to think about who I am now and what I wanted to say.”

Her manager urged her to take the pressure off herself and take her time selecting the songs she she wanted to record. That support, she said, made all the difference in selecting the ten tracks for the album, six of which she co-wrote.

“Once I relaxed, it all fell into place,” she said, noting the relaxed pace helped her find “A Little Bit Stronger,” which she and her manager predict is a game changer for her career. “When I heard that song I pulled my car over and called my manager and said “Have you heard this?” It became the centerpiece to the whole, entire project.”

Not, to mention, something akin to the theme for her life.

Photo by Russ Harrington

From that point on, Evans threw herself into writing, turning out songs including “What That Drink Cost Me,” about a fatal car crash and “Ticket to Ride,” about finding love.

Although some of the process was especially challenging, such as writing “Ticket to Ride” which has many time changes and what she describes as a “weird tempo,” Evans said the results were well worth the effort.

“I feel like I put together an album full of singles,” she said, noting each song on the album is a jewel, among the best she’s ever recorded. “I feel like I’m called to be an artists and an entertainer. That’s what I was meant to do.”

For more information about Evans’ music, her novels and upcoming concerts and appearances, check her Web site.

Lucinda Williams was backstage at the Los Angeles Convention Center last fall when something happened that likely changed her life.

She was killing a bit of time while preparing to sing “Comes a Time” with Emmylou Harris and Patty Griffin at the tribute to Neil Young as MusiCaresPerson of the Year when she met legendary producer Don Was.

“We were hanging out back stage and Don came over,” said Williams noting that though she and Was had each followed the other’s work through the years, they had never formally met. “Tom [Overby, her manager and husband] was watching and noticed Don and I had a chemistry.”

Talk about timing. Williams had just written the songs for the follow up to her 2008 album Little Honey and was just starting to think about recording. Call it fate or karma or whatever, but it seemed natural that when she and Overby later began to discuss the new record, Overby suggested Was be invited to co-produce.

“We love Don’s past production work,” said Williams. “Part of it, too, was getting that extra set of ears. Also, we didn’t want to make the same album twice.”

Not that anyone would think duplicating Little Honey would be a misstep. The album was widely hailed by critics, especially for the love songs to Overby who Williams wed in 2009 during a concert (and after the ceremony, she went back and played an encore!).

With those album goals in mind, Williams and Overby sent Was the songs and then went to dinner with him where they extended the invitation for him to co-produce. Was readily agreed.

What no one knew at the time was that the Was, Williams, Overby teaming was a true aligning of artistic stars. Not only did the Was Overby production work well but the players Williams and Was handpicked for the album brought an undeniable freshness to the sound.

Keyboard player Rami Jaffee and guitarist Val McCallum were tapped by Was to join Butch Norton on drums, David Sutton on bass and Greg Leisz on guitar including pedal steel. As if that team wasn’t powerful enough, Elvis Costello—who also played and sang with Lucinda on her song “Jailhouse Tears”—was brought in to add some no-holds-barred guitar work.

But the heart of the album is, of course, Williams superb songwriting. Once again, she has done what many feared would be the impossible—reinvent herself. The brilliant multiple GRAMMY Award winning singer/songwriter—who has penned an array of classic songs including “Passionate Kisses” and “Change the Locks”—was well known for her songs about unrequited love and broken hearts such as “He Never Got Enough Love” and “Steal Your Love”  when she made Little Honey. That album shifted her direction when it let the world in on the secret that she and Overby had found love.

Now she’s shifted gears again and made an album that has won critical praise after critical praise while tackling subjects far away from her unrequited love comfort zone of writing. Although the songs about broken hearts are easy to write, she said she was more than ready to cast a wider net creatively thanks to her rock-solid relationship with Overby.

“Tom is the big difference. I have a security I never had before,” she said. “It’s hard to talk about the process as a writer. Especially now with this album more than ever I’m being asked how I came up with the songs. So much of it was almost a stream of consciousness thing. I can’t detail that—it just flowed.”

It’s also taken fans along for the ride. A quick look at Williams’ Web site, Facebook page and other social media outlets shows that many fans are talking about the song— and word—”Blessed”. They detail what the word means to them in their lives. A full-length documentary made up of many of those stories is in the works and HBO is interested in the project, said Williams.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Williams of how her song has impacted so many and turned into a way for others to express themselves. “Times are tough right now. People need this.”

Lucinda Williams will be on tour to support Blessed. For a complete list of concert dates, more information about the album, and to tell your story of how you’re “Blessed,” check her Web site.