Girl To Country: A Memoir
Broken-down vehicles. Premenopausal libido. A punk rock-loving teen to share the culture shock with. I don't think Hank done it this way.
A few years after her 1996 breakthrough album Diary Of A Mod Housewife, singer/songwriter Amy Rigby is still figuring out who she is. Closing in on forty, a newly-divorced mom trying to tour, work temp jobs, and keep a car running, Amy is ready for a change. She trades her beloved NYC for Nashville, where she navigates music, men and motherhood to learn the hard way that outside validation is no substitute for self-belief.
Following on from her acclaimed debut GIRL TO CITY—where Amy fumbled her way to becoming an artist in late twentieth century NYC—GIRL TO COUNTRY depicts the tricky second act of a creative life, after the coming of age and first flash of achievement. Just like with her GIRL TO CITY podcast, each week Amy reads a chapter from her second memoir and adds some music.
From one of America’s enduring underground artists known for her honest, kinetic songwriting, Girl To Country is a touching, clear-eyed journey full of unexpected detours. Come along for the ride.
Girl To Country: A Memoir
Prologue
New York singer songwriter Amy Rigby finds herself at a church service in Nashville. Thirty-five years old—uncomfortably close to being over the hill —she's exploring the possibility of a songwriting career while she tries to find someone to release her first solo album Diary Of A Mod Housewife.
"It was 1994, the year Kurt Cobain killed himself and Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley. A few months later, OJ Simpson would be arrested for murder...Church sounded like it could be interesting, or at least amusing. Maybe even helpful? I didn't know what I believed anymore."
Songs in this episode:
- Rode Hard, from The Sugar Tree