Formula Indie Sessions Interview with Lainey Richardson
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest musical memory would have to be my first concert when I was 5 years old. It was a free bluegrass festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I saw The Steeldrivers perform in their original lineup with Chris Stapleton. I remember it very clearly because it is one of the first times I remember feeling inspired. I asked for guitar lessons immediately afterwards and it changed my life forever!
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I believe my passion began that day in Chattanooga. I very specifically remember going home and opening a notebook to write the words “Songy Song” on top of the first page. I sat there and wrote my first lyrics, immediately hiding the notebook under my mattress in hopes nobody would find my silly song. I would use my older brother’s guitar and YouTube tutorials to figure out basic chords after school. I kept at it and eventually pursued it in college and graduated this year with a degree in Songwriting.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
I think that every musician has their strength, and mine are lyrics. I’m no Mariah Carey level vocalist or Jack Antonoff level producer, so I keep my musical focal point on my lyrics. My recent release “Get To Dance” is my favorite song of mine because I feel like I finally lyrically captured how I felt on my prom night in high school. It can be such a relief to find the right words! I was immediately satisfied with the lyrics in a way that I rarely am, so I decided to produce and sing the song despite my self-proclaimed title as a plain-old writer. Singing and producing can be scary things for me to do publicly! It’s something i’m only just beginning to share with the world. It’s just a song, but for me, it’s also a big step out of my comfort zone.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I describe my sound as dad music (folk-americana-pop-rock). Like the country and folk artists that inspire me, I try to write story songs. I like to keep my chords simple and my lyrics charged.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
One of my professors in college once told me that writer’s block isn’t real. I realized he was right, and that I shouldn’t wait on a great idea to arrive to start writing. He said to “write anyways, even if the song you write is terrible,” I write every day now without feeling the need for some great idea to come to mind first. Writing bad songs is an important act, too!
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I write lyrics first and transfer my ideas onto my beloved Taylor guitar. I use Logic and the most simple recording set-up possible (interface and a mic plugged into my laptop). I usually record in my car because it’s the quietest place I own. It’s definitely not studio-quality but it works!
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
If You Know Me by Hudson Freeman. I heard the opening riff while scrolling TikTok and it shocked me. It’s been stuck in my head for weeks. I think he caught lightning in a bottle with that riff.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Nothing inspires me to make music more than music itself. Hearing a good song makes you want to write 10 songs. I am the artist I am because I have tried (and failed) for years to write like Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, John Prine etc. I write about my personal life through the lenses and filters provided to me by my favorite songwriters. Mix that with growing up in the southern United States in a big house with a family full of musicians, you get me!
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I showed “Get To Dance” to a group of friends a few months ago. One of my friends told me they knew exactly what I meant by writing it. I don’t know how the song made him feel or what he took from it, but it’s just important to me that someone understood it. I don’t really mind what someone takes from a song of mine as long as I feel i’ve explained myself.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
I remember attending a bluegrass festival when I was 12 years old. I felt so shy and nervous to play in front of these adults I had never met. My parents gave me a gentle push and we ended up outside jamming until 2 in the morning. I had so much fun with a group of people I had never even met before. I cant think of another circumstance that would allow me to connect with strangers like that for hours on end. I have to learn over and over how important it is to connect and share with others. Thank god we have music show us how!
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I currently work in Nashville at a few different music venues to pay the bills. I get to see a lot of great concerts because of it. The whole time i’m at work, I just think “I can’t wait to play here one day,” Right now, my dream is to play any one of the venues I work at. I’d love to be able to come back years down the road and say I am playing a show at the place I used to work at.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Jack Antonoff is my dream producer/collaborator at the moment. I wouldn’t even need to collaborate, i’d just love to be a fly on the wall of that studio and learn whatever I can by watching him do his thing! Lyrically, i’d want to learn from Labi Siffre. I’ve been listening to Crying Laughing Loving Lying a lot lately and wishing I could have watched him write it. He’s one of those that I borrow from often.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?(Website,Spotify, IG, links)
You can find me under my name Lainey Richardson on Instagram and Youtube, as well as all streaming platforms. I post demos on my soundcloud as well. However, within the next year, i’ll have more than just a few songs out there to listen to. My debut EP is in process.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
As a writer and amateur producer, I’m stepping into a chapter of collaborating with friends that I love. I’m producing songs for other small artists and having my first releases as a cowriter on several songs. I just want to keep going and expanding my little portfolio until I have too many songs to count.
As an artist, my next chapter is an EP release within the next year.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope that they discover my sound, my music, and my message alongside me, because i’m still figuring it all out. I love discovering artists early and watching them realize who they are and what they want to say. I hope others can jump on my train as well.
