We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Grace Pettis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Grace below.

Grace, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

In the summer of 2020, I had the enormous good fortune of getting to record a full-length album (Working Woman) in Nashville. My producer Mary Bragg and I agonized over the details- where and when to record, in a way that was as Covid-careful as possible. In the end we made the album at Sound Emporium, a storied studio with an incredible history. We got to hire a bunch of incredibly talented creatives during a time when most of the musicians we knew were either mostly or entirely out of work. That felt pretty great. What was extra great was getting to hire all womxn creatives. I’m so proud of the record we made.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a singer and a songwriter. I’ve been touring more or less full time for about twelve years, all over the United States and a little bit in Europe too. I’ve released two albums and an EP as an independent artist, another album and EP with my band Nobody’s Girl (with BettySoo and Rebecca Loebe), on Lucky Hound Music. And in 2021, I released my first album album with MPress Records, Working Woman. I’ve written hundreds of songs and played thousands of shows. I’ve won a few songwriting contests and awards. I’ve had a few songs covered by other artists, which is the highest honor I can think of. Most days I feel like a lucky penny. I just keep turning up.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Covid was a curveball for every creative person I know. I wouldn’t have survived without an advance from my publishing company, BMG. Even so, I had to learn a lot of new skills. Broadcasting software like OBS and Streamyard and video editing became very familiar, very quickly. It was a steep learning curve. I hated playing to my phone and laptop. But it also felt like a lifeline to connect with my family, friends, and fans that way. I started a Patreon page and moved to subscription-based support from fans. I started a podcast, to give myself something to do, more than anything, and as a way to connect with my musician friends from lockdown. I played a LOT of virtual shows. Those skills and lessons have served me well in this next chapter, as I’m pivoting again to tour life and a new music town (Nashville).

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Big televised music contests led me to believe as a young person that music was competitive; that I had to be better than everybody around me in music to succeed. But I learned pretty quickly that the opposite is true: other songwriters and artists are not my competition. They are my community. Every good thing that’s come my way came through friendship and collaboration and mutual support. Nothing is more vital to a young musician than a community of music-making friends. That’s how we find our co-writers and bandmates and support systems. We lift each other up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gracepettis.com
• Instagram: @gracepettis
• Facebook: /gracepettismusic
• Twitter: @gracepettis
• Youtube: @GracePettisVideos

Image Credits
Photos by Nicola Gell Photography