Celebrating Nashville Music: Chandler Marie's Journey as an Emerging Songwriter in Music City’s Scene

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Speaker 1: M Taking a Walk Nashville.

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Speaker 2: Hi everyone, I'm Sarah Harrelson, your host of Taking a Walk Nashville, and here with me today is Chandler Marie. She is a breakout Nashville based singer songwriter who has received eight Josie Award nominations and millions of streams.

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Speaker 1: On her debut EP, Just Getting Started.

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Speaker 2: Raised in a small Georgia town, she grew up surrounded by music making her way to Nashville.

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Speaker 1: So, Chandler, thank you for being here today.

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Speaker 2: You have released a couple of singles already so far this year. Your latest single, Like a Man, is the lead single from your upcoming debut album. It's a really fun breakup anthem. So where did the inspiration come from for the single? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having me. This so much fun.

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Speaker 3: It kind of came about when I was in the room with the co writers The Stone, Illy, Kylie Sackley and Dana Perdue and Three Girls, One Guy, and Kylie was just like, we need to write a breakup song about men who can't be men, and Stone's just like what It's like, Sorry, We're just gonna write a really bad breakup song about a bad guy and you're just gonna deal with it. Sorry, uh but yeah, it's just like men can't be men in a relationship. They're just walking out and we're like, we're just gonna kick you out. But then you just have some pride and leave, you know, gather up your ego. We're done. We're done putting up with bad men. It's basically how it all started.

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Speaker 1: I love that you had a male co writer. Best song was it a peekn tribute?

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Speaker 3: So he did more like the producing of the demo and the like final soundtrack, and he had some you know, input in the lyrics.

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Speaker 1: But he was just like, oh, yeah, that's nice.

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Speaker 3: Nice pull up your big boy bris Okay, got it?

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Speaker 1: I love it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a fun song, such great production and ke. You also released an acoustic cover of Jody Messinas I give it ams busted. I absolutely we hear a version of this song. Is Jody Messina a big influence of yours.

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Speaker 1: She is.

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Speaker 3: I love a lot of her music and just her vibes. We grew up a lot listening to her and heads Carolina was a good one. It was one of my number one songs that I sang on Broadway. So yeah, just listening to her and having being able to make it my own was really nice and fun and just get an acoustic feel.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a fun cover that you do. And you are just rolling with the new single releases this year. You have an upcoming single called Embers coming out in April.

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Speaker 1: Tell us about that song.

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Speaker 3: Oh goodness, So I like to call this one my spicy song.

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Speaker 1: It has a little bit of a different feel.

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Speaker 3: Than my normal songs. I don't want to give too much away because I want to keep y'all coming back for more. But we're gonna call it spicy and a little bit of a mixed genre.

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Speaker 1: Ooh vibe. So on the r ided in April? Is it dropping? We don't know exactly yet.

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Speaker 3: I swear we're just having me a little a little broad.

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Speaker 1: We're hunting well.

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Speaker 2: We can look forward to that. You also have an upcoming album. What has it been like working on your first debut album.

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Speaker 3: It's a little crazy. We're not sure exactly what we want on it yet, so we're kind of just picking putting pieces together. What will go with like what we just said, like a man, what's gonna fit the vibe of that? It takes a lot of like thought process, Like I didn't think it take a lot of thought to put into the songs that you've written how you want to group them. But I'm a very like mindset of creative mind. And everyone's like, no, you need to do it based off what other things, and I'm like, but this song fits with this song, and this song fits with this song, and they're like, okay, well you need to do it based off numbers, and I'm like, no window creatively.

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Speaker 1: So we'll see.

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Speaker 3: I'm not sure exactly what we want on it yet, but like a man and Embers will definitely be on there.

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Speaker 1: Nice. Have you been recording all of these songs in Nashville? Yes, they were recorded last year.

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Speaker 3: We did fifteen songs. I'm so blessed to be able to get in.

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Speaker 1: The studio and record fifteen songs.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a lot, three days worth. Very excited and they're pretty much all done. I've written a lot more since then, so I kind of want to see where those go as well and get back in the studio. But we recorded at Soundstage Studios in Nashville, so yeah, it's very exciting. That's a great studio.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I can't wait to hear all of the songs and where your upcoming album will be.

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Speaker 1: You've done a lot of performing here in Nashville.

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Speaker 2: Last year, you performed on the CMA Fest Spotlight Stage at CMA Fest. Is that one of your favorite performances today? What was it like being at CMA Fest to perform.

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Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun.

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Speaker 3: It was so quick, Like you take all this time to building up to it, yeah, and then you're done with your four songs and you're like, wow, I feel like I prepared so much more for then actual performance. It was so much fun though, And I props to all of the CMA people that were working, like the volunteers, Like they were so kind and as chaotic as this event can be, they were so like able to help. We were lost. This was our first CMA Fest that we've been a part of, so they helped us out a lot, just you know, navigating Bridgestone and yeah, just you know, helping us. But it was so much fun just to be on I cried. I sang one of my songs and I was like, this is my thankful song. It was called Here's to You, but I was like, I'm so happy to be here and says all because of you guys.

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Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna sing now.

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Speaker 3: I was like, oh my gosh, I cried on stage in front of all of these people. I don't do that, but it was so much fun and it was just like I got to sign autographs, which was really cool that people were there to like see me.

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Speaker 2: Was that at Fanfare? Like that was Spotlight stage at Fanfare? Yeah, that's in the Music City Center, which is.

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, Music City Center, not Bridget which is really nice though because it was raining that day so everybody.

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Speaker 1: Was coming inside. So yeah, I was really excited.

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Speaker 2: Well, and to get air conditioning because when it's not raining during CMA Fest yeah.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and the day before was beautiful and then I was like, oh, ninety percent chance of raining, right, nice.

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Speaker 1: Well, well we see you at this year CMA Fest.

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Speaker 3: Fingers crossed. I send in an application. I will be around and about. I applied to play a stage again this year, so we will see. If I don't get a stage, I will still be around just you know, pittle paddling and seeing what we can do.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we can look on your website for your upcoming shows. What other upcoming shows do you.

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Speaker 1: Have this year? Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So I just played Whiskey Jam and now I have a few writers rounds here and there, and I'm going to be at the Mockingbird Theater in Franklin again in May first, so we're preparing for that be full band and ticket sales will be coming out soon.

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Speaker 1: Perfect, And what's your website so people can find that, Chandlerwrene music dot com. Perfect. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I love mocking Bird Theater. It's such a beautiful and intimate theater.

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Speaker 1: It's a really cool, bod great place for shows.

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Speaker 2: So, Chandler, you were raised in the small Georgia town. But it's funny because you attended the University of Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: So how did that happen?

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Speaker 2: Because usually you don't see a lot of Georgia people going to UT Knoxville.

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Speaker 1: I get that a lot.

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Speaker 3: So I've always been a UT fan. My dad's from Newport, Tennessee, so you know, he Bleeese orange and we grew up going to Tennessee games. My sister also went to the University of Tennessee and our degree. We did the same degree because it got us in state tuition, you know, saving money there cheaper to go there. So with therapeutic recreation. We got in state tuition, and I just always wanted to go out of state, get out of my hometown, explore, and Tennessee was the best option. Yeah, I loved it. That's four years of my life.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that.

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Speaker 2: I'm from Knoxville, so go falls. Yeah, it's not too far from Nashville. You grew up around music, started writing songs at an early age.

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Speaker 1: So were you always wanting.

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Speaker 2: To pursue a career or music or was that something that came after graduating college For you?

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Speaker 3: It was kind of always in the back of my brain, like I am moving to Nashville at some point. I didn't really know how to get there. But I also had a dream of wanting to go to the go to college, have that experience, join a sorority, do all of the things, go to football games. And I didn't really know when the music journey would come for me. It came obviously after college. But it's okay to have.

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Speaker 1: More than one dream.

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Speaker 3: So I finished college COVID hit. It was a really bad timing, but moved to Nashville and now I'm not using my degree as much, but we're singing and the University Tennessee has actually helped me with a lot of music things. I sing the national anthem there nice at different sporting events. I'll be back there for baseball and softball, and did the swim meet last year. So I think everything worked out to God's timing of when my music career came about.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, everyone's music journey is so different, and you know, I really don't think that a lot of people realize it takes so much work when you are starting your music career. You know, you've said you've done midnight sets on Broadway. Being a musician sometimes means long drives.

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Speaker 1: To gigs, day jobs.

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Speaker 2: Has the grind for you been worth it to pursue your music.

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Speaker 1: Career and what has this journey taught you?

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Speaker 3: Oh, it's been worth it one hundred percent. I don't think I would change a thing. I was talking earlier with Chrisita, and they're like, I always kind of look back and it's like, what if I would have started earlier? But you can't think of the wood ifs because you wouldn't be where you are right now. And there's a reason that you're I'm in this journey and like the spot I'm in. So I think just never giving up and working as hard as I can to get me to the next step, even though I don't know exactly the next steps I'm supposed to go, just kind of filling it out and seeing where the Lord takes me and just never always being the hardest working person in the room as much as I can.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, And it can be so tiring.

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Speaker 2: So I think it's always good to focus on your purpose when you're doing a music career because it can be exhausting going from day job to long night gigs to you know, not really knowing what's next in music.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think like at some points, I'm like, I'm getting so burned out, but you're doing everything for a greater accomplishment, Like you're working your way up to the next thing, And looking back now, I'm so much farther in my career than I was, so I'm very grateful. And it's all because you know, I've had great people in my life to get me there and the Lord's guidance. And I wouldn't change anything. I just would keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully the next steps.

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Speaker 1: Will come about. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's worth it to share your stories, and so we're looking forward to your upcoming songs and shows. You're going to be at Country Rido Seminar this year. Looking forward to that, Chandler. Is something I always like to ask my guest on taking a walk Nashville. Do you have a favorite place you like to take a walk in Nashville.

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Speaker 1: A favorite place I have kind of too.

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Speaker 3: If I stay closer to home, it's just around my apartment complex because there's cows in the summer and you get to see the cows. But if I go away from my apartment, it would be downtown Franklin because it's just they call it the Hallmark of Tennessee, so it's beautiful.

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Speaker 2: Now. Yeah, well, there have been Hallmark may Ye shot on Main Street in Franklin and you can see why. But yeah, that's such a popular answer as the Franklin area. It's not too far from Nashville.

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Speaker 1: You go on Main Street. There's so much beautiful scenery out there too, it really is.

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Speaker 3: And it's only two minutes from my house, so I love it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, short walk's hit.

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Speaker 2: Well, Chandler, Thank you so much for being on Taking a Walk Now Bill today, and we can't wait to hear your upcoming music this year.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much. This has been fun.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with Sarah Harrelson.

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Speaker 2: Please check out our other shows produced by Buzznight Media Productions, Comedy Save Me and Music Save Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman, and Taking a Walk hosted by Yours Truly Buzznight. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and are part of the iHeart podcast network