Tristen: Not your run-of-the-mill migrant songwriter (by Seth Graves).
Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to get signed; the wretched refuse of lifeless music scenes across the country. Send these, the homeless notebook-carrying, starry-eyed minstrels to Nashville… we’ve got room for them all. Okay, that may have been a little dramatic, but it’s still not too far of a stretch to say that musicians are pouring into this town by the boatload. With that kind of volume, it’s easy to generalize, trivialize, and stereotype the lump sum of into a horde of quixotic wannabes with hopelessly romantic aspirations and ideas as to how the music business works. But just like anything else, you’ve got good ones, bad ones, and a whole lot of cliches in the middle that make those stereotypes hard to ignore. Occasionally, Nashville gets a migrant or two that do well at reminding us that some folks really do come here to make better music.
One such shining example is singer/songwriter Tristen who arrived recently by way of Chicago. The single-named songstress has been bandying a simple, straightforward pop influenced folk style around town for the past year now. Backed by a revolving door backing band, Tristen takes a classic approach to melody sounds neither modern nor retro, but rather takes on a timeless quality that seems it could have come about at any given year between now and 1972.
Growing up in Chicago on a steady diet of radio oldies, Tristen started writing pop songs and playing shows at the ripe age of 14. After making a few records, she landed a publishing deal in L.A. and getting a few of her tunes in placed in television and film. It’s an impressive start at such a young age, but shortly she hit what she describes as a creative “glass ceiling” and knew it was time to move on. She started traveling to Nashville to write with a friend and recorded another pop album. Says Tristen, “ I sort of fell in love with Nashville because it seemed to be a really creative environment… it was such a charming place to be. So I packed up and moved here.”
Since arriving in Music City, Tristen has long departed from her radio pop roots and done well at assembling a crew of capable musicians to accompany her new style. Work on her newest record is slated for this summer but Tristen says it feels like it’ll be her first. In the meantime, she’s been playing as often as possible around town and beginning to branch out into the regional south.
“I think Nashville has a strong character,” she explained when asked about her impression of Nashville since moving here. “It’s southern and stubborn. You can find it if you are looking in the right places. I’ve discovered and re-discovered some of my favorite country music since I’ve moved here.”
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Hello Nashville! Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade plays tomorrow night at Norm's River Roadhouse, 8pm, $5, 7695 River Road Pike. Come hear some live jazz and blues...Would love to see you there!
love, Miss Tess
Hola! Tonight @ BR I'll have to ask you about opening for Sara Watkins. I've seen Watkins play with her former band Nickel Creek on three occasions (including at Ravinia with Fiona Apple). Cool gig (I hope)!
