Rising musician Abby Anderson is a country music writer and singer who has solidified her place in the music industry with her devotion to music and her drive to put her feelings out into the world. Anderson, a Texas native, garnered attention with her debut single “Make Him Wait” in 2018. The catchy melody and personal lyrics drew in fans and helped establish her career as a solo artist. Her musical style incorporates elements of pop and R&B, creating a sound that can’t just be defined as country.
Her newest album, First To Hit The Road was released in 2023 and her most recent single “If You Killed Somebody” came out this past May. Earlier this year, Anderson had the privilege of opening for the legendary Stevie Nicks and toured with country music star Tim McGraw for six shows. Her next performances will be at Country Fan Fest in Utah at the end of July and Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond in September.
We chatted with Abby Anderson about her perfect day in Nashville, the inspiration behind her new single, and her crazy festival flight mishap.
I know you’re originally from Texas, but now you live in Nashville. What is your perfect day there?
First of all, it’d be a day off. Nobody needs me, no one texts me, no one’s calling me. They don’t need me for anything. I sleep until 9:00, and then I just take my time getting out of bed. I go journal and pray and read for an hour and then I’ll go work out. For the rest of the day, I’ll probably end up writing because I have to do that every day. I would write a song with one of my really good friends, and then around 5 or 6:00, go fishing with my husband on the Cumberland. That’s been our thing in the summer. I’m not saying I’m good, but I like to hang out. That’s my perfect day.
Do you have any good fishing spots?
I don’t even know where we are half the time we’re fishing. I’m just kind of happy to be there, you know?
Any favorite spots like restaurants, bars, anywhere you like to go out downtown?
You have to remember I don’t even wear a full shirt on stage – so I’ve got to think about that. I’m like, “Oh, I have to wear a crop top on stage tomorrow.” We have an amazing Vietnamese place called VN Pho. We love that place. I love this other place called Korea House with amazing Korean food. We love Monell’s, which is the most amazing soul food. There’s not a menu. You just go sit down with strangers and they just bring you plates of food. Those are my favorite places if I’m in shorts and a tank top, we’re not getting dressed up.
I know you recently opened for Stevie Nicks. What was that experience like? How’s it been being out on the road with Tim McGraw?
Well, Miss Stevie Nicks is a legend and Tim McGraw is too. This is like the Year of Legends for me. I just feel so lucky that I got to learn from them. I pray I get to do this until I’m Stevie’s age, she’s 75 and still sounds insanely good. You can tell she loves it and all she wants to do is be out there playing music. I just felt like I was looking at her and I was like, “Dang, that’s what I want. That’s my future right there If I do this right.” I’ve learned that from her. There’s no reason why there can’t be longevity in this business. There’s no reason why my voice can’t get even better and better the older I get.
I did a few shows with Tim. His whole crew and everybody was amazing. I feel like you can tell that it’s a happy camp based on the first day. People are hanging out, in the hallways shaking hands, they’ll come knock on your dressing room door and introduce themselves. You can always tell they love the artists they work for. His whole crew and his whole team is so much fun. I learned from them that I really do create the culture on the road and that’s so important.
The last day of that tour the tour manager was like, “Tim wants to come talk to you. He wants to give you a present.” I’d seen him in the hallways and stuff with small talk or whatever. I go to his dressing room and he hands the phone to me and it’s Faith Hill. I just started sobbing. I don’t know what I needed to cry out, but I just started bawling my eyes out and we just talked for probably way longer than Tim was anticipating. That was very cool of him. I think he knew that as a female artist, it is fun to hear an icon like Faith say, “I love your music. I love what you’re doing. Keep on doing it.”
Did she give you any good advice?
One day I want to be a mother. I don’t know when, but I just asked her how she did that. You just figure it out. You just do it.
You have this song out, “If You Killed Somebody.” Tell me the back story and the inspiration behind that song.
It’s funny, people have gotten really mad in the comments about that song and I’m like, “Hey, you can get mad about it. I’m not saying what I say is the Bible or anything. My gosh. If you want to fight about it, fight about it. That’s okay. As long as I’m making you talk.”
The song came when I was at the end of two weeks of super intense writing where I was writing every day, twice a day just to make sure I’m squeezing the best songs out of me before I started releasing music again. It was Friday, the last night of this camp, at like 4:00. You can imagine everyone’s enthusiasm for being there. I walked in and I was just thinking about my love for my husband.
I’m like, “What would have to happen for you to draw the line in a relationship? What would they have to do? How far would you go for the person you love?” My friends are saying stuff like “Maybe I’d steal for him, but that would be pretty bad,” or “Maybe I’d lie for them, but I don’t know.” I looked around and I was like, “I would hide a body for this man.” As soon as I said that, my friend Jake just started playing that little guitar riff you hear at the end. The words just fell out.
At first I thought the song was never going to come out. That’s literally what I thought because it’s absolutely ridiculous. Then I came home and I played it for my husband and he freaked out. He was like, “Oh my gosh, the song is amazing.” He played it for my friends and they’re like, “No, you need to release that one.” Then, of course, it was my whole team’s favorite. It’s always a song that I don’t think is anything special. Everybody’s like, “That’s the one.”
You were at Stagecoach Festival and CMA. What were your fun moments from the festivals this summer?
They’re both so fun. Stagecoach was kind of an insane story, but it’s the reason why I love this business and what we do. Long story short, my band’s flight that morning got canceled. I was flying from Pittsburgh to Nashville the same day. We usually always fly in the night before in case stuff like that happens, but I hate asking my band to fly a day early and miss a night of work.
So anyways, I found out the day of my flight that it’s canceled and I’m in Chicago. I’m crying in the airport thinking “I need to cry in this corner and then I’ll be logical again.” We rebooked the flight on a different airline, Chicago to L.A., and I took a helicopter from L.A. to Palm Springs.
I get to the festival at 4:30. I go on at five. I’m still a mess. No makeup, I smell like two-day old B.O. from traveling. Then you have to go through security. I get to my trailer side stage at 4:50, and I am just tearing my clothes off, slapping makeup on my face and I just walked out there and rolled my set acoustic. It was just me and my piano. It was freaking awesome.
You also have R&B influences. Are there any specific people who’ve influenced you or any dream collaborations you have?
I don’t know if you classify it as R&B because she does everything, but Alicia Keys. She would be a dream collaborator. I listened to her first album, Songs In A Minor. I was so inspired by it. I still go back and listen to those records. Miss Lauryn Hill. I love her, but I think Alicia would be my dream collab.
What are your must pack travel items on the road?
You’re going to laugh at me, but it’s my coconut oil. I cannot do anything without my coconut oil. It’s my moisturizer, my makeup remover. It’s the quickest way to just get your makeup off and also wake up glowing in the morning. I have to bring that. I have to have some baby wipes in case you need a quick spit bath or something. Then my bedazzled bras of course. I can’t play a show without one.
I just started going to Buc-ees last year. What’s your favorite truck stop must-have item?
I was literally just at Buc-ees yesterday. I love beef jerky. It’s the best snack for me on the road. It’s an easy protein and doesn’t make me feel sleepy. Buc-ees has their own signature beef jerky, and it’s so good. I try not to eat a lot of sugar, but I have to have my watermelon Sour Patch Kids. Those are my favorite.