We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Joly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My latest release was a single called “Til I Have My Day” and I’d venture to say it was the most meaningful song I’ve ever put out. Starting off with the question “if I told you once again just what I’m here for, would you laugh?”, this song is about my personal journey to letting go of trying to control my life and learning how to trust in something higher than myself. I’ve worked hard to stop trying to hold so tightly onto things being the way I want them to be, and to instead embrace the unknown and be grateful for the journey that is life. In recent years I’ve felt called to write about topics other than love and this is really the first song that I’ve put out that shows another side of me, so I’m excited for what’s to come as I head in this new direction.

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

I’m a songwriter and music producer from Boston, MA, now based in Nashville, TN. I grew up in a musical household and took to playing, singing and writing at a very young age… I believe I was 8 years old when I wrote my first song. I’ve always known music is my passion and a gift that I am meant to share with the world and I’m so blessed that I’m able to be able to be a full time artist! I was raised on classic rock so my music is very influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Aerosmith and The Eagles, but I also love 2000s pop and modern country, finding inspiration in artists such as Matchbox 20 and Lainey Wilson. I think my diverse taste in music allows me to pull in different elements into my songs that make them stand out and sound uniquely myself.

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

I really love what I do and am struggling to pin down the very most rewarding part of it. For starters, there is no greater feeling than completing a new song demo. I write and demo my songs in my home studio and I just love nothing more than being in my happy place for hours on end, letting the ideas flow, being creative and experimenting, and then coming out on the other end with a new creation that I love… it’s such a wonderful and fulfilling feeling. On the other end of it, it’s unbelievably rewarding when people listen to my music and tell me that they feel seen or that they “needed to hear that” that day. It’s just amazing when something you create can make someone else feel validated, I think it’s beautiful.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was younger I kept being given the same career advice, which was that I was going to go far in my career “if I didn’t let drugs or relationships get in the way.” Now of course the first part of that is great advice, but I very much resent the relationship part of it. I was convinced for a long time that in order to be successful I would have to choose my career over any and everything else, including a personal life or a relationship. When I was in my early 20s, after years of buying into this narrative, I decided that I deserved to live whatever kind of life I wanted. I gave up on the notion that relationships hurt your career, and I decided my definition of success included professional success AND personal success. Now years later, I am happily married to my amazing husband and can’t wait to start a family someday. Women are often made to feel like we need to choose between marriage and motherhood or a career but I’m determined to do both, and I can’t wait to be able to tell younger artists that they, too, can do both!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nataliejoly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliejoly/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NatalieJolyMusician
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/nataliejoly
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliejolymusic

Image Credits

All photos were taken by Mary Grevas (instagram is @marygrevas_studio)