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

Natalie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

This is such a a real question that I think everyone, on any side of the fence, has a difficult time answering. We get one life to life and our sets of choices become the beds we make, even more so as we get older. Of COURSE there are times I’m envious of my 9-5 friends, namely because they know what to expect weeks and months in advance from their jobs and their schedules. I think it would be lovely to turn your brain off at 5/6PM and enjoy other facets of your life. Personally, as I’ve been doing my best to scale my freelance work and personal artist project, literally all of my time is spoken for and if I’m not working on something, I’m thinking about how the time could be better spent. You sacrifice a lot to become a working artist or musician, which is in essence being your own boss of your own small business. There are days I would love to “take off,” and not feel guilt or anxiety about the never-ending tasks I need to check off my list. I know the grass is always greener though, and I’m sure there are days my friends wonder what it would be like as per this hypothetical too! The way I look at it, any job is a job, and it’s likely going to necessitate hard work and more frustrating days than great ones. The weird division between people denouncing “desk jobs” and those denouncing “creative pursuits” is lame. We’re all victims of a larger system and we should lift one another up.

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

Hi, I’m Natalie Carr! I’m a Pop/R&B singer-songwriter based out of Charlotte, NC. I write songs for myself as well as other artists, and do a ton of freelance work in the songwriting and singing space. I also write and produce videos and engineer/vocal produce!

I write songs about heartbreak in my twenties and navigating the ins and outs of broken relationships, self-image, self-perception, and being a young woman in a patriarchal world. I’m passionate about writing songs that are very revealing and honest, no matter the scope. My most recent release, “Cowboy,” is a women empowerment anthem inspired by feeling lost in the tropes of how a “nice young woman” should present to please the male gaze. It’s a funk-pop inspired record that I’m super proud of and think a lot of girls and women could identify with.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the most important thing people can do for their friends, family members, and local creatives/artists, is to either purchase art/music/merch/tickets to functions or concerts, OR, engage on social media or stream. The latter is free. People are so quick to leave the 100,000th comment on a celebrity’s Instagram post, but won’t show an ounce of support for a local musician. I think we need to acknowledge that a thriving arts community actually makes our cities what they are (pretty to look at, lively, culturally relevant). Even saying, “I see you, you’re doing great, I appreciate your work” can make an artist’s day!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up in the early 2000s obsessing over the stories of pop stars who got “discovered” at a mall, or a local show, etc. I think for a lot of musicians in the current social media climate, we’ve had to unlearn the idea of gatekeepers being the ones who make us. The last few years, I’ve completely internalized that what happens in my career is totally and wholly on me and just me. It’s a double-edged sword, because while the expectations of posting on social media constantly while also making music, designing merch, making videos, booking/playing shows, engaging, working freelance, etc., seem daunting and impossible to do at once, it IS nice how democratized music has become. I hear a lot of artists talk about how much they don’t want to do x, y, or z, and while it’s valid to feel that way, the reality is scaling your art has to be treated like a business. You can empower yourself to complete tasks and grow outside of your comfort zone, if you so choose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nataliecarr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliecarrmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nataliecarrmusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nataliecarrr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NatalieCarr/videos

Image Credits
Mark King, Matt King, Logan (Hexchromacy)