Texas native and country singer/songwriter Misty Dawn keeps her head held high with her latest single, "Mountains." Creating music known as show-country, Misty Dawn blends musical theatre, soul country, outlaw country, and Americana into her music for a gripping experience. Her latest single "Mountains" serves listeners a slice of introspection with a side of hope. Misty noted that this single is a celebration of life, loss, and writing a personal narrative.
Her soaring vocals rain down from the "Mountains," and her lyricism creates another deepened space for listeners to indulge easily. Not to mention the track being an ode to Misty Dawn's late father who passed his love of the mountains and singing over to Misty, she's truly created a beautiful song that grasps every aspect life delivers.
"Mountains" begins with Misty Dawn's powerful vocals singing with such clarity and poise, while she's accompanied by sole acoustic guitar. Once the entire instrumental sets in, the track's up-tempo pace brings fiery energy for the listener to get lost. The intoxicating show-country sound she's created pushes through heavily on this track. We can hear the purity and unhindered passion exuding from Misty Dawn as she sings an incredibly positive message of moving forward. With instrumentals from the violin, fiddle, kicking drums, and banjo, Misty Dawn strikes back with a lively country tune that defies the genre's boundaries and pushes into her distinctive sound. "Mountains" effortlessly keeps our energy up, while Misty Dawn shines a light over the ups and downs of life, reminding us to take each day one hopeful step at a time.
We love the message on your single "Mountains." What was your initial inspiration for the song, and how did you shape it to be an ode to your late father?
I was living in Tucson, Arizona at the time and was surrounded by mountains! I happened to be out at a desert hippie sweat and when I came out the mountains just had this wonderful pink glow to them. At that moment, a melody started to float into my head. As the song to shape, it became clear how connected it was to my father, who LOVED the mountains and had started hiking with me strapped to his back when I was one year old. During his life, he faced many peaks and valleys. He was sick with Parkinson's for 15 years but through that whole time, he always held his head high and remained one of the most joyful men I know. So it just felt like a fitting way to honor him.
How did you craft the song's instrumentals to give off such a passionate and energetic atmosphere? Did you work with any producers, engineers, or musicians to make your vision come to life?
I worked with Dango Rose and Evan Reeves of the Elephant Collective. Dango is the founder of Elephant Revival so he already had that wild, mountain folk style in his bones. I knew he was the one to work with. I also knew it was a big song and needed the banjo, fiddle, etc. so it was a matter of finding all of the right players and once we did it all feel in place. I feel like the collaboration really captured the energy of the message in the song. Everyone came to the table with ideas that brought it to life!
When writing the lyrics for your single "Mountains," how did you go about writing incredibly inspirational and positive lyrics during such an uncertain time?
I've always returned to the belief that no matter how challenging something you might be facing is, it's only temporary. It's hard to zoom out when you are in the thick of the hard times but taking that bird's eye view can be useful and pushing forward. I suppose I have a bit of an eternal optimist in me!
How did you initially come across your unique show-country sound? How do you go about blending different musical aspects to create this?
I have a degree in theatre and have done a TON of musical theatre, so I kind of can't escape that sound and song structure. Funny, I actually rebelled against country music (growing up in Texas) but when I sat down to write that was apparently what was in my bones!
What has been keeping you inspired throughout 2020?
Honestly, putting this music out there. Initially, I thought about holding off because of the pandemic and then kind of realized that it was the perfect time to put it out there. It's inspiring me to make more music and lean into the feelings, thoughts, struggles, and joys that we are collectively experiencing through it all.