Indie Artist Spotlight: Talking “Summertime” in the Wintertime With Albertan Singer-Songwriter Liz

Kyla Pearson

There is no one quite like Liz, she’s a small-town gem with a big heart and a voice like no other.

 

     Hailing from Olds, Alberta, is singer-songwriter Liz. Drawing stylistic influence from artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, and First Aid Kit, she has a musical sound that appeals to fans beyond the country music scene. After pursuing vocal lessons in her teens, Liz wrote dozens of songs and released her debut full-length LP.  By 20 years of age, Liz had written well over a hundred songs. She was also the recipient of the 2018 CKFM Star Search and  2019 FACTOR Artist Development grant. In 2020, she participated in AE West, a Canadian music incubator program (Liz), and released her latest single, “Summertime”.

     Having grown up on a cattle farm, Liz has lived a true country lifestyle. Her father had raised cattle for years, then her mom immigrated from Germany as a trainee and bought her own. As Liz reminisced, “We had 600 cows when I was a kid. I grew up with it; cattle ranching is in my blood” (Liz). “There’s no guessing with cows. You always know what they are thinking.” On the farm, the radio was always on in the tractor, tuned in to the local country music station. Music has always been there.” (Liz). Which in turn has helped Liz when penning new songs. As she mentioned, “I grew up outside of things. Living free on your own land helps with creativity.” And it was that very creativity during a regular workday on the farm one winter day that lead to Liz’s last single, Summertime. As she explained,

I wrote Summertime when I was 22 years old. I first came up with the idea in the wintertime, sitting in the seat of the tractor. While I was moving grain, I started humming to myself and came up with Summertime. Then in a different tractor raking hay, I came up with the concept of the song. I liked the idea of how winter can be a drag and summertime and can be full of sun/joy. Personally, I always miss the summer during winter and I love songs about hanging out watching the sunset in the countryside, so Summertime was the perfect song to combine those two things in. (Liz)

When it comes to songwriting, Liz turns her feelings into stories. As she revealed, “Songwriting is weird for me. I don’t usually have a story in mind before I write a song. I usually have a vibe or mood I’m feeling at the time, and I follow that.” (Liz). As was the case for Summertime, which was later fleshed out as a full song by Liz and Steve Dodd. It was then produced by Mark Troyer and Steve Dodd.

     Summertime itself is an upbeat song about missing someone you loved like you “miss the summertime”, but at the same time not wanting to stay with someone who wants everything to be perfect all the time. This is cleverly related by the line, “No, I’m not staying in your bed of roses” (1:59-2:05). Liz also released the official lyric video for the song, which was realized by a local graphic designer and fellow artist, Julianna Laine (AKA Not Your Designer). The video is in the collage style, which is reflective of a scrapbook of summer memories and old home videos, which will surely transport you back to the warmer months.

     Liz is also a part of the Alberta country music scene. According to her, the scene presents both its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, “There’s not a lot of opportunity outside of Calgary. Networking is a little harder.” (Liz). On the other hand, “Everyone in Calgary is more willing to give you advice and supports one another. There’s a really tight-knit community.” (Liz). Calgary also offers several opportunities for country artists to perform and share their music, including the annual ACMA awards. While live gigs are presently on hold due to Covid-19 lockdown regulations in Alberta, Liz can’t wait to be back on stage. Reminiscing about one of her favourite pre-pandemic gigs, Liz mentioned The Bluejay Sessions. “My favourite gig is the songwriter round at Bluejay Sessions. I played The Bluejay Sessions for the first time a year ago. I love the atmosphere. It’s an eye-opening experience and it’s great to hear about other artists’ songs and so on. It’s also put on by the most wonderful people, Dan Clapson & Emily Holloway” (Liz).

     In 2021, Liz has several plans for her music. As she stated, “I’m looking forward to a lot of things. I’m going to be releasing new music, including 2 singles I wrote during the pandemic. I’m really excited about them. And excited to work on a bunch of new songs, and maybe I’ll get to play some socially-distanced concerts” (Liz).

 

Stream “Summertime” Now:

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/summertime-single/1516306014

 

To learn more about Liz and her music, be sure to check out her music & socials:

Website: https://lizmusicofficial.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizmusicofficial/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizmusicofficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elizabethcmusic

YouTube: https://bit.ly/2MgS1Ag

Spotify:https://spoti.fi/2MaQ9sX

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/liz/1434072490

 

Works Cited

Liz. Interview. Conducted by Kyla Pearson, Dec 28 2020.

Liz. “Summertime”. Apple Music, Liz , 2020. https://music.apple.com/ca/album/summertime-single/1516306014

Unknown. “Featured: Canadian singer-songwriter Liz”. Photo courtesy of Liz. Accessed Dec. 28 2020.

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