Loss and release find understanding through ‘Bloodline’
Harper Grae is a young lady who has faced a lot of adversity in her life. She was raised by her grandparents when it became clear that her parents were unable to take care of her. Struggling to overcome the pain and sadness, Harper found comfort in music that eventually led to writing and performing songs inspired by her difficulties and the ways she faced them.
While attending Auburn University in Alabama, studying Musical Theatre and Religious Studies, she auditioned for ‘The Glee Project 2,’ a talent program attached to the hit TV show ‘Glee.’ The audition was successful and she found herself in Los Angeles for an intense education in every aspect of the musical business.
Now settled in Nashville, she has a new EP and a new single, ‘Bloodline,’ that she sang during appearances at CMA Fest 2018. Harper and I met during CMA Fest to catch up on her career.
This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.
CMA Fest ‘was a whirlwind’
Preshias Harris: You made your first CMA Fest appearance this year. Can you describe that experience?
Harper Grae: Yeah, the experience was a whirlwind! I mean, starting from the artist valet pick-up, for a small-town girl from Alabama, I was like, ‘Wow, this is SO cool!’ And walking onto the stage at CMA Fest was something I always dreamed about doing. The most incredible experience was the Meet and Greet where you really get to meet the fans and talk to them. That’s what I want to do, interact with people who like my music and want to talk about my story and the songs that I have written.
PH: Was there a special song that stuck out to the fans, that they gave you feedback about?
HG: They all loved ‘Bloodline.’ They all loved it. It was the last song on the set and we really tried to ‘bring the house down’ with it. It was cool because we were on the Spotlight Stage and you can see people walk by, and they could keep walking but they didn’t! And I made note of that. I said ‘Okay, let’s make a game of this. Let’s see how many people stop and stay.’ And it was quite a few and that was cool. Because at my core I’m the girl who thinks nobody’s going to come to her birthday party, so it was really nice to see a crowd there.
PH: Where are you from in Alabama?
HG: I’m from a small town called Reeltown, near Auburn, Alabama, a really small town!
The story behind ‘Bloodline’
PH: Tell me about your single, ‘Bloodline.’
HG: ‘Bloodline’ is the first single off my EP, ‘Buck Moon Medleys,’ which was inspired by the loss of my mother in December of last year. I started to really look at the lack of relationship with my mom from a vulnerable perspective, a beginning-to-end experience. I wanted to start off talking about that in a song that really talks about ‘does the apple really fall far from the tree?’ In my case, I hope I fall very far. But then, sometimes, you don’t want to, because you don’t want to run from who you are, because at the end of the day, my mom and my dad, even though I didn’t have a relationship with them, they are why I’m here. I’d never really thought about it. I’d just harbored not-so-great feelings towards them.
PH: When did that change? Continue reading “Harper Grae draws on her own life’s challenges”