Words By: Julia Gross

Morgan Wade is here to take the spotlight with the new drop of her debut album, Reckless. The Virginia native has definitely left her mark in the Rock-Country genre with this new album. What’s even more exciting is that this is only the beginning for Wade. The rasp in her voice makes her music possess that sounds classic. Smooth flowing guitar and a soft shake the tambourine can be found throughout the album. Morgan shows just how natural she is in creating authentic sounding music. She is an artist of her own and offers nothing but fresh sounding tracks with lyrics that can take her listeners to all different places in life. We scored the amazing opportunity of speaking with this star on the rise. Morgan Wade speaks in the interview about her earlier days in her music career as well as the creation of her debut album.

 

Play Too Much: Thank you so much for joining us! We are beyond excited to be talking with you today about the upcoming release of your debut album, Reckless. This is some big news. Before we jump into talking about the album can you tell us a little about yourself and your start in music?

Morgan Wade: I grew up in a real small town in southwest Virginia and always wrote songs and played music for myself like it was a secret, a hidden thing that I didn’t tell anyone else about. In my freshman year of college, I went through a break-up and decided to form a band. I got a band off Craigslist – the safest way to do it – and ended up just going and playing my first show. It clicked and it stuck with me. I was like, ‘Alright, you know, this is something I could do.’ I didn’t think I’d be where I’m at now. I just thought, ‘We’ll do the weekend warrior thing, go play some shows and have a good time.’ But now here we are.

PTM: Your story is really interesting, definitely unique — and honestly, quite inspiring. It goes to show that anyone can jump into music at any point in their life. You were 19 years old and in college when you first performed live, what were your feelings at that time about finally performing?

MW: It’s kinda funny, because that’s when I started drinking so I had that liquid courage. I wasn’t nervous which is weird because I had never played music for anybody else. I didn’t go out and do that. So, to go from being nervous and not wanting people to know about my music to walking out there on stage and being fine is a little crazy to me. But like I said, I had some liquid courage back then. I guess it was meant to be though because it did come naturally to me.

 PTM: Do you think choosing to share your music later in life gave you an advantage in establishing who you are as an artist?

MW: For sure. I think the biggest thing for me was that I always wrote songs for myself. It was something to cope with whatever I was going through and to really lay out my emotions. I was never doing it to impress anybody; I wasn’t writing this for this person or anything like that, so I’ve always written everything to be authentic and to be real. So, I think that served me really well. I’m not doing it for anyone else, I’m doing it for me because it’s what I’ve always done and I just love doing it. I think that’s been the best part.

PTM: Growing up in Floyd, Virginia where music is centered on the Bluegrass style, would you say that had a heavy influence on your musical sound today? How would you describe your overall aesthetic as an artist?

MW: Bluegrass definitely had some major plays in my life. I grew up going to the Floyd country store on Friday nights with my grandpa. He was big into music, and I was always drawn to the guitars and eventually got a guitar of my own and started writing stuff. But you know, you couldn’t grow up there and not let it influence you. I’m just drawn to music of all types. I don’t play bluegrass music, but bluegrass led me into discovering Americana which got me to where I’m at, so I’d definitely say it had a big part in my life.

PTM: Let’s talk about, “Reckless.” This record is so smooth and has such an easy feeling. It gives off those vibes of summer days, driving with the windows down, hands up in the air and hair blowing in the wind. What was the creative process like when creating the title track?

MW: The biggest thing that comes to mind when I think about it is, we had demo-ed it out one night and it was like 11 o’clock and I was exhausted and ready to go to bed. Sadler was like ‘Nope, we have to listen to this. Let’s go get ice cream.’ So we go and hop in his car and he’s blasting that song as loud as he could on our way to get ice cream at 11 o’clock at night. So that was a big part of the creative process that I remember *laughs*

But that song went through a lot of changes, and I think we got it exactly where we wanted it and it hits where it should hit. We did work really hard — I mean this song was the one we worked on the longest so it makes sense that its one of the catchiest. [Sadler Vaden co-wrote the track “Reckless”]

PTM: Your song, “Last Cigarette,” speaks a lot about the struggle of letting go of something you crave so much. Can you share what the writing process was like? What inspired you to want to write a song like this?

MW: Being sober, I know that feeling of like ‘Just one more, just one more time.’ And I think we do that with a lot of things in our lives, especially romantic relationships or even friendships. We know there’s toxic people in our lives we’ve got to let go, but it’s like ‘Alright, I’m just gonna do it one more time.’ But we realize one more time is not really going happen. It’s just like smoking. ‘One last cigarette and I’m done.’ It can take years to have that last cigarette. So that’s where I was at with that – lingering relationships and doing things we shouldn’t do, but claiming it’s going to be the last time.

PTM: The lyrics to your songs are so honest and relatable. That is one of the most amazing things an artist can do for their listeners. Keep it real and say what they truly feel. What would you say was the most challenging part in creating a record so raw?

MW: Being vulnerable obviously opens you up to criticism. I think sometimes I say things and I think ‘Should I have said that? Is that okay?’ But at the end of the day, when people connect with my music, I realize that it was worth it. But sometimes it’s basically your diary in song form, so it’s a little weird to put that out there. Everybody’s hearing it and can say whatever they want to about it.

PTM: Tell us about your single “Wilder Days.” This song sounds like a pure classic hit — one of those songs that just sticks with you forever. What’s the story behind this track?

MW: It’s a song about meeting the right person at the wrong time. Or at least we think they’re the right person at the wrong time, but it’s just obviously not meant to work out. One of those things that’s like, ‘You know, if I had met you three years ago, we would have been crazy. Things would have really worked out or we would have really messed things up. Regardless, this is obviously not going to work for where we both are in our lives right now, but let’s just enjoy it while we can before it implodes.’

PTM: If you could give your fans one main message or theme to take from this album, what would it be?

MW: That we’re all changing. We go through things and we can come through it on the other side. If it’s a takeaway about me, it’s just that I’m changing but I’m staying authentic with my lyrics and trying to be as real as possible.

 PTM: With the world finally being able to open up again, Do you have any plans for live performances or perhaps a live stream for fans to celebrate your album’s release? What can fans expect from one of your live shows?

 MW: The record release show at 3^rd and Lindsley on the 18^th is socially distanced and it will be live-streamed as well. Hopefully getting back to touring slowly as long as it’s going to be safe. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been so long since I’ve played a live show, I’m kinda curious what we should expect *laughs*

PTM: This has been beyond exciting to get to talk to you about the release of your debut album, Reckless and really get to know you as an artist. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MW: I think that about covers it. Thank you!

TICKETS | WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK