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

Tracee, 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.

My upcoming EP, The Clearing, has meant the most to me thus far. It has been almost 13 years since I last released a body of work and it is really reflective of the journey I’ve been on and where I am now in my both personally and creatively. The mental work that is has taken me to persist in seeing this project to fruition has helped me grow as a human, woman and music maker. It also represents me giving myself to invest in my myself and getting better at staying focused in the midst of obstacles.

Tracee, 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?

From a very young age I have always loved to sing and was often in a choir of some sort. I later dabbled in musical theater when I moved to New York City after college. Towards the end of my time in NYC, I participated in a songwriting workshop and absolutely loved it. When my husband and I moved back to L.A. I started learning to play guitar and became a songwriting workshop junkie! It was through those workshops led by mentors such as Suzan Koc and Judy Stakee that I learned the most and felt encouraged to keep going. The first show I ever played in L.A. was at The Cat Club on Sunset Blvd. I didn’t really have any of my own songs or play guitar very well yet so I hired a band to play cover songs with me. But I continued to learn guitar, work on my writing and attend workshops and it grew from there! I’m really proud of the fact that I keep showing up to this crazy music journey. My upcoming EP, The Clearing, is a product of that and it’s great reflection of how far I’ve come and where I am in my life right now, struggles and all. I tend to write emotional songs about the things that are going on in my life and in my head and I want to find common ground with people in my music.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think more funding and designating space in communities for local art and creativity is essential. Funding for creative programs is often an afterthought and at first risk when budgets get tight but I wonder what would happen if we leaned in more than out. In Nashville, for example, I would love to see more artist co-op studio and performance spaces that are affordable for creatives. Additionally, I think we also have to be careful about the commercial pressure we place on creatives as it relates to how much and how often art is created. I think creative burnout is a real issue with the pressure to create new things and then also create constant content about the new things to stay relevant is a slippery slope. While I don’t believe an artist should have to starve in order to create I also don’t think they should have to be relentless in the pursuit of creativity to be validated or compensated.

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

For me, connecting with an audience in a live performance is so rewarding. I love when there is synergy in the room between the listeners and myself. It’s a form of freedom for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.traceeperrinmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traceeperrinmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TraceePerrinMusic

Image Credits
William DeShazer