Singer/songwriter releases Undone, a stripped-down collection of familiar songs

By Brent Thompson

Photo Credit: Becky Fluke

Since releasing his 2000 debut recording on his own label, Sean McConnell has embodied the hard-working, D.I.Y. singer/songwriter. In 2016, the Massachusetts native and Nashville resident released a self-titled album on Rounder Records. The songs from that album are now seeing a second release on McConnell’s upcoming album, Undone (September 8). An acoustic track-by-track re-recording (plus a new duet track with Lori McKenna) of the self-titled album, Undone finds McConnell taking the songs back to their original forms – performed by one man and his guitar. On Friday, September 22, McConnell will return to Birmingham to perform at WorkPlay. Recently, McConnell spoke to us by phone from his Nashville home.

Birmingham Stages: Sean, thanks for your time. How long had the idea been brewing to re-record and release these songs acoustically?

Sean McConnell: It’s always been there since we worked on the self-titled record that it’s based on. Because of the nature of the songs, I always heard it in that world as well. I felt like it was a collection that you could strip down and it would stand up on its own. I’m a sucker for acoustic records and I grew up listening to a lot of that, so it was a real treat to get to revisit the songs and see them that way.

Birmingham Stages: What did you learn or remember about these songs when you re-recorded them?

SM: The funny thing is that they sound like they did the first time because I write on an acoustic guitar or piano. So it kind of sounds the way the songs sounded before we made the self-titled record, so it kind of came full circle in a way. I play mostly solo acoustic during the year, so when we hopped in the studio I’d already played the songs about 100 times [laughs].

Birmingham Stages: You have a duet track with Lori McKenna (“Nothing On You”) on the new album. How did your collaboration with her come about?

SM: We’ve known each other for a number of years and we both come from Massachusetts – she still lives there. I was a fan first and we met through songwriting and became friends. We’ve been writing and being on each other’s records for five or six years now. It was a real honor to have her on this record.

Birmingham Stages: Are you still writing and laying down new ideas as we speak?

SM: I’m always writing and I’m definitely actively writing for the next record right now. I write a lot at my house and I write a lot on the road. It’s a bits-and-pieces thing but sometimes lightning strikes and it all happens in one moment, which is always a nice treat.

Birmingham Stages: If you will, talk about the co-writing environment in Nashville and your place in it.

SM: There’s a lot of co-writing in Nashville – people co-write every day up here. It’s very much a part of the process. I dabble in that but I do a lot less of it than I used to. For my records, I tend to gravitate toward songs I’ve written by myself.

Birmingham Stages: In this day and age, how do you reconcile the instant accessibility – and instant purchasing ability – of listeners with the over-saturation created by the fact that anyone with a website can release an album?

SM: That’s a good question. I think those are both true at the same time. It’s an amazing time to be putting out music and anyone can hear it anywhere in the world and it’s a truly powerful tool. It creates the floodgates, but I don’t see that as a negative. The more creativity the better and music has its own way of finding who’s supposed to listen to it.

Sean McConnell will perform at WorkPlay on Friday, September 22. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $10 and can be purchased at www.workplay.com.

Singer/songwriter brings Trinity Lane tour to The Nick

By Brent Thompson

There’s an old adage that dark personal moments can be catalysts for the creation of great art, and Lilly Hiatt has validated that statement with the release of her latest album, Trinity Lane [New West Records]. Dealing with autobiographical subject matter including alcohol abuse, failed relationships and her mother’s suicide, Hiatt  – the daughter of stalwart singer/songwriter John Hiatt – leaves no wound unopened across the album’s 12 tracks. On Saturday, September 23, Hiatt will return to Birmingham to perform at The Nick. Recently, she spoke to Birmingham Stages by phone from her East Nashville home.

Birmingham Stages: Lilly, thanks for your time. Trinity Lane is being called your most personal album yet. Do you agree with that description and, if so, why was now the right time to make this record?

Lilly Hiatt: I probably do agree with that and I think it was the easiest because I was in a period of being capable of being more honest with myself than I’d been previously. It was easy to go there in the songs.

Birmingham Stages: Over what time period were the songs written?

Hiatt: Most of them came last summer. There were a couple that I’d written before that like “So Much You Don’t Know” and “See Ya Later.” The bulk of them came in a three-month period. It was an inspired period – I had a lot of space and a lot of time to myself and I was emotionally distraught. The songwriting was a really nice tool and crutch to have through all of that, basically. It takes what it takes to get where you need to go.

Birmingham Stages: You’ve seen a lot of changes in your hometown of Nashville in recent years.

Hiatt: I grew up in Franklin – about 20 miles south. I went to college in Colorado and moved back home in 2006. Nashville had a lot of cool Rock & Roll and Indie stuff going on and I’ve watched that continue to bud. I think Nashville has always gone a lot deeper than “Country Music U.S.A.”  – you just had to look a lot harder for it and now you don’t.

Birmingham Stages: Are you still writing songs and laying down ideas at this time? How does your writing process typically work?

Hiatt: I don’t really have a specific method to the madness, but I do have a really good memory. Something impacts me and I document it and when I get to a point where I’m about to explode, I write a song. I also do really well with a deadline, so I like a little bit of pressure.

Birmingham Stages: How did you come to work with [Trinity Lane producer and Shovels & Rope member] Michael Trent?

Hiatt: This really great woman at the label I’m on, New West, suggested him and got that idea rolling. I was intrigued by that because I knew Michael and his wife and I thought it was a cool and different direction to take. So, we started talking and had a couple of great conversations before I said, “OK, let’s do it.”

Birmingham Stages: Do your songs continue to evolve or change in mood or feel even after you take them into the recording studio?

Hiatt: Totally. I write these melancholy Folk songs and I want to amp them up so I find a cool band that can rock them out a little harder than I can on my own. Michael really brightened things up and took it to a different level than we as a band could take it, which is really exciting. Everybody puts their level of bedazzlement on it until you’ve got a finished tune. My favorite thing is to find people that just tap in and you become limitless as to where it can go.

Birmingham Stages: Did growing up in a musical household prepare you for your career or was the music business too different when your father came along to be applicable in today’s model?

Hiatt: I feel extremely fortunate to have a father, not only that I’m close with, but has also navigated the tricky music industry. I’ve sought out plenty of advice from him and we talk about music itself and how to write better songs and keep that first and foremost. That’s really what it’s about.

Lilly Hiatt will perform at The Nick on Saturday, September 23. Will Stewart and Ryan Sobb (with Taylor Hunnicutt) will open the 10 p.m. show. Advance tickets are $10 and can be purchased at www.thenickrocks.com.

You can count on improvisational music, loyal fans and a stellar light show at an Umphrey’s McGee concert. The band’s Birmingham show on August 17 delivered in all areas. [Photo credits: Adam Johnson]

On Friday, August 18, The Maverick Lounge Series returns to WorkPlay with The Music & Story of Steely Dan. The Mark Lanter-led all-star ensemble will perform the music of Becker & Fagen coupled with between-song narration of the legendary group’s history. As any Pop music lover knows, Steely Dan’s music is radio-friendly but complex to perform, so don’t miss this chance to see it unfold on a live stage. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $18 and can be purchased at www.workplay.com.

A triumphant return to Birmingham for Katie Crutchfield’s quintet  – check out the new album Out In The Storm [Merge Records]