For today's Meet a Blogger Monday, I had the privilege of interviewing a dear friend of mine. Morgan blogs at The Tennessee Life where her love for country music is showcased. Her blog features many interviews from great artists and is continuing to grow. If you are ever in search for new country artists to listen to, then I highly suggest visiting her blog.
THE INTERVIEW:
What is your occupation?
I graduated in May from Tennessee Tech University with my
degree in elementary education. I am currently working with 20 Pre-K kiddos in
the Maryville City school district.
I also just received the honor of working for Florida
Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and his wife Brittney as a blogger for their soon
to be released clothing line Tribe Kelley! It has been such an amazing
opportunity already and I can’t wait to work even harder when the line comes
out December 1st! I’ve never been one to say no to an adventure. And
this adventure, well its just getting started.
Where is your hometown located and what do you love about it?
I live in a pretty small town in East Tennessee. Maryville
is about 15 minutes from downtown Knoxville and right on the edge of the Great
Smoky Mountains. It’s absolutely wonderful to live in a city environment but
also have the great outdoors literally right in your back door. I live in a
tiny little community where everyone knows everyone. I’ve grown to really
admire the beauty of the south and my little hometown.
List any hobbies/talents you posses.
Anyone who knows me would answer this question correctly. My
absolute favorite thing to do is attend concerts. I am a HUGE music junkie! I’m
guilty of spending way too much money on albums and concert tickets. As far as
talents go, it also involves music. I have the ability to kind of pick artist’s
singles before they release them! I swear, it’s a gift!
How would you define your personal style?
If I had to describe my style in three words I would say classic, unique, and ever changing. Some
days I will wake up and throw on a peplum skirt, plaid shirt, cardigan, and J.
Crew flats. Other days, I’ll wear velvet bells, a basic white tee, and a printed
kimono with lace-up motorcycle boots. I feel like I’m right on the edge of
mixing preppy and boho. A lot of my new found ‘boho lovin vibes’ have come from
being inspired by my boss B Cole and Tribe Kelley!
Tell me a little bit about your blog (e.g. name, genre, etc.)
My blog is called The Tennessee Life and it has evolved from
a fashion blog to more of a southern lifestyle/music blog. If you went over to
my blog you would mainly find posts about country music. I have interviewed
over 30 country artists and I have about 20 more in the works for the next few
weeks. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some people I never imagined
would even know my name. Without my blog I wouldn’t have such cool friends!
Haha
How did start blogging and how long have you been a blogger?
I started blogging about a year and a half ago. It started
as a way for me to keep up with all my thoughts and ideas. It was more or less
just a place for me to store things online that I thought I might like to
remember later on or share with others. After about three months my blog kinda
took off. Even though the success of my blog happened kinda overnight, I’ve
learned things like this don’t happen by luck or by accident. They happen
because I had a vision, a commitment, and a dream. I’m far more than what’s
happened to me. I am what I’ve worked to become.
How do you find inspiration for your blog?
I find new inspiration to blog EVERY SINGLE DAY. For me,
inspiration occurs when I’m in the car, shopping in a store, or online browsing
Soundcloud, iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, etc. Anywhere I go that has music playing
in the background inspires me or gets me thinking. I am HUGE fan of The Highway
on Sirus XM. This station features a lot of new artists and their music. I
always find new talent I wish to interview.
What do you ultimately hope to accomplish through blogging?
My ultimate goal is to work hard, write about things I love,
and inspire people enough to keep reading. Basically I never want to run out of
things to post or share. I never want the music to stop. I know that sounds
lame but it’s true. I hope I can continue to keep my readers interested with
fun and entertaining interviews with some of country’s biggest names. To this
point, I’ve worked with a bunch of new artists or artists on the rise. I hope
my blog continues to grow in size and I can then move on to working with even
bigger names. At the end of the day I’ve realized the things we are passionate
about are not random, they are our calling. I just wanna do what I love to do.
What do you love most about country music?
Country music has a way of telling a story that I always
seem to relate to. I used to only be fans of the actual artists singing the
songs I heard on the radio but nowadays, I like to truly sit down and listen to
the lyrics and think about the story or hidden message behind them. I have
honestly grown to love and respect so many amazing songwriters in the last year
alone. (Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, Sam Hunt, etc) It’s one thing to sing a
song. It’s totally different to write one.
List a few of your favorite lyrics
“It’s like I went out of style. It’s like I’m old news. You
wanted to try me on like a temporary tattoo.” Disposable || Kelsea Ballerini
“Funny how a melody sounds like a memory.” Springsteen || Eric Church
“Blame it all on my
roots, I showed up in boots. And ruined your black tie affair.” Friends In Low Place || Garth Brooks
“I don’t wanna think about tomorrow. I don’t need anything
money can buy. I don’t have to beg, steal, or borrow. I just wanna live until I
die.” Live Until I Die || Clay Walker
“It can happen so
fast. Or a little bit late. Timing is everything.” Timing Is Everything || Garrett Hedlund
“My faith. Your love. Our freedom. I hold on.” I Hold On || Dierks Bentley
“I don’t wanna blow your phone up. I just wanna blow your
mind. I don’t have to take your heart. I just wanna take your time.” Take Your Time || Sam Hunt
(Pretty
much every line ever written by Kelsea Ballerini,
Josh Kerr, Jason Duke, Ryan Griffin, Sam Hunt, & Ryan Bizarri can also be
added to this list.)
What country song best defines you and why?
I feel as if I could never pick one song that defines me or
my life completely. I relate in so many ways to so many different songs. If I
HAD to pick one song though, it would be Dirt by Florida Georgia Line. No
matter where I am or what I’m doing I always stop and just think whenever it
comes on. It’s one of those songs that brings tears to my eyes every time I
hear it.
But I will add this, I have an unlimited amount of “girl power” songs and a break-up
playlist that could change lives! Lol
Which artist are you dying to meet/work with?
WORK
WITH-
Cole Swindell, Raelynn, and Sam Hunt. Plus I feel like this
might be totally predictable but I’m just gonna say it anyway: Florida Georgia
Line. I would love to be able to share an interview with BK and Tyler and find
out a little bit more about how this amazing journey they are on has brought
them closer together.
MEET-
I’m not sure I could live with myself if I didn’t put Garth
Brooks(and his wife Trisha Yearwood let’s just be real) at the top of my list.
Meeting someone like him or George Strait would quite honestly be the coolest
moment of my life. Good music doesn’t have an expiration date. Country music is
like wine, it gets a little sweeter with age.
I also have this 90’s kid thing where I dream of meeting The
Dixie Chicks, Clay Walker, and Mark Chesnut! Sorry I’m not sorry!
Out of the thirty artists that you’ve worked with, which stand out in your
mind? Do you have a favorite?
I absolutely love all the artists I’ve worked with! Each one
was so different and brought so many different things to the table, which
reflected in their interviews. I am somewhat biased to my interviews with Chris Lane and Ryan Kinder. They were two of my very first interviews and I
remember being so excited that they agreed to work with the random girl asking
them for interviews for a tiny little blog.
I also loved being able to showcase the talents of some of
my friends by working with Kelsea
Ballerini, Josh Kerr, and TJ
Hamilton. They have so much talent and are amazing singers, songwriters,
and people. Dylan Scott has been my
favorite new male artist for a little over a year so being able to share an
interview with him was pretty awesome…even if it did take me going all the way
to Ruston to prove my love for his music! Ha!
I am also really excited to be working with two pretty big
country stars on reviews and interviews right now! They have been incredible
people to get to know personally, and I cannot wait to share what I’ve learned
about them soon on The Tennessee Life!
Who are your favorite artists at the moment?
Thomas Rhett, Brett Eldredge, Kelsea Ballerini, Jackie Lee,
Sam Hunt, Cole Swindell, Dustin Lynch, Chase Rice, Dylan Scott, Dan + Shay,
Raelynn, Frankie Ballard, Lindsay Ell….seriously, I could go on all day!
