We recently connected with Virginia Louise and have shared our conversation below.

Virginia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I was recently visiting Ireland over New Years this past month. There was a fantastic museum I stopped in while walking around the city of Kilkenny one morning called, “The Medieval Mile Museum”. There were a lot of incredible archaeological finds. One of the most interesting finds had been 3 different sets of bones that they found. All of which belonged to who they believed was a middle aged woman, a young woman, and a child.

As you turn the corner after reading about the lives that these people may have led so many years ago, there was a prompt for the museum goers to write down what they hoped their legacy would be. It was quite a moving moment for me as I was reading the words of strangers about the way they’d like to leave their mark on this world. In some ways, the answers were similar. Each person wrote down things like, “I want to be remembered as kind” or “I want to leave the world better than it was when I came into it”. Things of that sort- which resonates so much for all of us.

When I was asked this question, I thought to myself, “What would I hope my legacy would be?”. I hope that I am remembered as a kind, warm, inviting, safe place for my loved ones to know they could always turn to when needed. I hope that I’m remembered as always being completely authentic to who I am at my core. I hope the art I make and ultimately leave with this world, resonates with people the way artists I looked up to resonated with me. I hope to leave the world better than it was when I came into it. The way I think all of us do.

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

Sure! I grew up in a small town outside of Austin, TX. I think I always knew, even as a small child that I wanted to pursue music. Some of my oldest memories are of me singing the national anthem in local rodeos, performing in musicals, or putting on little concerts in my room for my sisters. My Mom always had Fleetwood Mac playing as well as classics like Etta James playing on repeat in my childhood home. I also had two older sisters who heavily influenced the music I listened to in my teenage years. However, I feel like I got the best of both worlds. My Dad and I would listen to old blues music and his “stoner” 70’s bands on the weekends while driving to our ranch before we fished for hours.

As soon as I graduated High School, I enrolled in The Recording Conservatory of Austin and became a fully-certified audio engineer. I think this is one of the best decisions I ever made. For two years I was constantly surrounded by music and people who truly inspired me. While in school at the conservatory, I started making music with my first alt-rock project, “Happy, Hollow”. Through “Happy, Hollow”, I really challenged myself as a guitar player. I never thought I’d do anything other than sing on stage, but now I can’t picture myself not having a guitar in my hands. I love that I challenged myself in this way, because I’ve had girls come up to me after shows and say that they want to play “rock’n’roll” guitar- which is just about the coolest thing ever.

After Covid, I decided to dive into my solo music and move to Nashville, TN- where I currently reside. This was another challenge for me. My family lives in Austin, and I love them dearly. However, I know they want the best for me, and the best thing for me was to continue seeing where music takes me. I’m currently working on my Debut EP. I’ve been writing with wonderful musicians, and just in general… I’m having a great time. I couldn’t be more grateful to be in the present moment than I am right now.

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

Of course! After I graduated from The Recording Conservatory, I was working 2 jobs and had an internship at a couple different recording studios on top of that. I was also just getting my band, ‘Happy, Hollow” started. To give more backstory. I went into audio engineering with the intention of learning it well enough to record and mix my own music. However, while I was in school for audio, I really fell in love with it. So much so, that I questioned if I wanted to pursue being an artist.

After I graduated from school, I was really focusing on building a career as an audio engineer. The goal was to become the head engineer of any recording studio in town until I could open my own. I hit a lot of road blocks along the way. When it all became too much, I decided to take a break from engineering and focus on making music. When I did, things…started to fall into place. I had to remind myself why I started audio engineering in the first place, and that was so I could record and have control over my own music. Now that I wasn’t interning or pushing myself to extreme lengths for something that just wasn’t meant to work out at that time; I was able to use this skill I learned and make music I was passionate about with it. I had to look at it as pivoting instead of “giving up”, and I know it was the right thing to do. When something doesn’t feel, “right”, anymore- I think that is when you should pivot. It might feel right again later, but you don’t need to burn yourself out if in the present moment, if it doesn’t.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For sure. Something that came to mind was when my band, “Happy, Hollow” broke up in the middle of Covid. I could’ve stopped making music, or decided to take a lengthy hiatus. However, I chose to take this as an opportunity to see what was next. I learned a lot about how to be in a band through that project, and I wanted to see where having this new found knowledge would take my next steps as an artist.

When we broke up, I started writing my own music. I was going to pick another band name, but ultimately decided it was time to step out on my own as, “Virginia Louise”. That was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Now I’m chasing the dream all the way out in Nashville, TN. I think there’s a lot of freedom in having your own solo project, but you don’t do everything on your own. I now make music with people I cherish as friends and musicians. I think working with people you admire is one of the most important things you can do as an artist. It allows you to be open to absorbing their knowledge and learn from their creativity and experiences as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.virginialouisemusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginialouisemusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaLouiseMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ik2Ftqwbktd68G7ftkBJw
• Other: https://biglink.to/VirginiaLouiseMusic

Image Credits
Nathanial Clayton Jimmy Lee Zuinga Dan Mitchell (Mitchell Multimedia) Matt Bender