Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mary Heather Hickman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mary Heather, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Something that I really appreciate my parents teaching me from an early age is that if you want something you have to work hard for it. They have always told me that you have to hustle for what you love and want it more than anyone else. Growing up, they were always a great example. I’ve watched my dad go from a store manager in small-town Arkansas to building his own construction business. I’ve watched my mom be a teacher while raising three kids and then later in life pursue her passion to become a real estate agent. When I told them I wanted to move to Nashville to follow my dream of being a country music artist, they never made me feel like my goal was unachievable. The values they instilled in me help to get me through the hard days when I feel like giving up. Chasing a career in country music definitely isn’t an easy path. Hundreds of people move to Nashville every single day with the same dream. I’ve spent many years fighting to get my music heard, working restaurant jobs, and living paycheck to paycheck. It is because of the work ethic my parents taught me that I know I will continue to work hard until I reach the goals I have set for myself.

Mary Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born in El Dorado, Arkansas (a small town in southern Arkansas) and grew up in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I remember listening to a lot of traditional country music from a young age. My dad was always playing artists like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and I remember loving artists such as The Chicks and Martina McBride. I’ve always connected to country because it’s music that tells a story. Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved singing and performing. My first time ever performing in front of an audience was at my 4th grade talent show, and I’ll never forget the rush I felt from being on stage. Shortly after that, I decided that I wanted to be a country music artist when I grew up. My parents started taking me to perform around Texas and Arkansas, at opry houses like “Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue,” and the “The Columbia County Hayride”. It was a great experience because I learned how to sing with a live band. I also started learning to play guitar and piano, and began writing my own songs. As I got older, I continued to perform every chance I could.

After graduating high school, I attended college at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. At that time, I thought I would end up working in broadcast journalism but the dream of chasing music was still in my mind. Shortly after starting school, I formed a band called Mary Heather and The Sinners. We had a lot of regional success, opening for artists such as Eli Young Band and Hank Williams Jr., and playing shows most every weekend. Music had quickly become the forefront in my life, so I worked hard to finish my degree and move to Nashville as soon as possible.

In 2018, I moved to Nashville and started co-writing and collaborating with others in the music industry. I always say I’m a songwriter first, so I worked hard to improve my craft and hone in on my sound. I was slowly working towards my goals, but it wasn’t til Covid-19 hit and I got on the app Tik Tok that things really started taking off. In December of 2020, I uploaded a video singing a song I had written that joked about my bad taste in men, called “Treasure”. The song resonated with people, and that video quickly soared to over 3 million views. I ended up releasing that song in February 2021, and it now has millions of streams, was featured on the Bobby Bones Show and iHeart Radio, and reached the Top 30 on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart. My following on social media has continued to grow since that first viral video, and it has given me an amazing platform to reach fans with. Following the release of Treasure, I put out several more songs such as “Baptist Parking Lot”, “Ouachita River”, and most recently “Britches”. At this time, I am continuing to write and record more music, and I hope to someday put out a full album. The journey has definitely been crazy, but I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One thing that I often don’t talk about is the health issues I have had over the years. At the age of four, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and it is something I have struggled with for a lot of my life. My relationship with this illness has not always been a good one. Throughout my teenage years, I was really embarrassed and ashamed to be diabetic. I did not like the type of attention that I felt it drew to me, so I would go to great lengths to hide it. I didn’t like wearing an insulin pump, testing my blood sugar or taking insulin in front of my peers. This resulted in poor control and constantly feeling sick. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school, when I went to an appointment with my diabetes specialist and was immediately admitted to the hospital because of how out of hand my control had gotten, that I finally decided to make my health a priority. I started channeling my feelings of isolation and frustration into songwriting and music instead of self-destructive behaviors. The change definitely didn’t happen overnight, and there have been some bumps in the road along the way, but I am proud to say that I am now in a much better place with my diabetes. I am in the best control that I’ve ever been in and feel amazing. I now realize that I am not able to do the things I love if I don’t put my health first. I am glad that I had the resilience to overcome the mental and physical challenges of diabetes, and that I can now embrace it and look at it as an important part of my story. We all face adversity at some point, but I hope I can inspire others to know that it can get better and to keep pushing through!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I feel so lucky to have a job where I get to follow my passion and do what I love every single day. I think one of the most rewarding things about this career is that I get to take my own life experiences, write songs about them, and then have others relate those songs to their own life. There is no better feeling than writing a song, performing it and then have someone say “You wrote exactly what I’m feeling”. I love that this job makes me feel connected to people even if we have had very different life experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maryheatherhickman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryheatherhickman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryheatherhickmanmusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryheatherh
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/maryheatherhickman
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@maryheatherhickman

Image Credits
Sam Mason