Nashville-based pop artist Sarah Reeves believes in the healing power of music and aims to have her music connect with as many people as possible. Born and raised in Alabama to a musical family, she grew up spending a lot of time in studios and singing in church. Although she took music lessons in her youth, she found being around other people who were challenging and had a passion for music to be helpful in her artistic growth. A chance meeting with the artist Plumb at a festival at the age of 17 led her to travel to Nashville and meet many industry professionals, ultimately signing her first record deal with Sparrow Records at 18. She recorded an album and some EPs for the label, but later parted ways and released music independently for a bit. She spent time as an independent artist rebuilding everything from the ground up and evolving, both personally and artistically, signing with Curb Records in 2016. Although Reeves had operated as a Christian artist up until this point, upon signing with Curb Records she decided to reinvent herself, experimenting with different genres and started making music with more of a pop edge. Reeves has had many notable accomplishments over the years, such as having a large follower count on her socials, collaborating with many high profile global DJs such as Gattuso, R3HAB, Laidback Luke, and Armin Van Buuren, participating in the 2023 SXSW Songwriting Camp and performing as an official SXSW showcase artist, and has been featured in Apple Music’s Morning Coffee official playlist and Spotify’s Hits Up official playlist. Aside from writing music for herself, she also writes music for other artists, as well as for film and television. She has secured TV/Film syncs across all major networks – ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX – along with Netflix, Disney+, National Geographic, and Hallmark Channel.
On September 22nd, Reeves will release her new album Best Days. Since last year, Reeves has released several singles, music videos, and reels leading up to the album’s release next month. “This album was made during one of the toughest emotional seasons of my life,” Reeves admits. “‘Best Days’ was one of the first songs we wrote for the album. It laid the groundwork for the sound and theme. I sang it anticipating the future in the midst of brokenness in my life. I sing from a different and deeper place on this album than I ever have before. I hope it inspires every person who listens. I believe the best days are truly ahead of us.” The album contains 16 tracks that she hopes listeners will connect with, including her recent hit single “Get Back Your Fight”, about finding her strength and getting back her fight after a tough year, and her latest single “Billboards On Sunset”, released today. “Billboards On Sunset” is the sixth selection to release ahead of Best Days and follows tightly on the heels of viral hit “Get Back Your Fight,” which is currently active at pop radio in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Italy, the Philippines and Australia. The fiery, theatrical declaration was written, recorded and produced solely by Reeves. Check out the just-released music video for “Billboards on Sunset” below! You can Pre-Save/Pre-Add/Pre-Order Best Days HERE. Make sure to follow and connect with Sarah Reeves via the following links:
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You grew up in Alabama in a musical family. What can you tell me about your childhood and cultivating a love for music? What do you feel you learned at an early age, being in that environment, that has helped you throughout your musical career?
Yeah. I’m super grateful for my family. I grew up in a super small town and my siblings and dad are all musical. My mom, not so much, but she always supported us. We would always be in studios growing up and just singing in church and starting bands. I’m just so thankful for the community that I grew up around, because honestly it just made me better, the more that I was around it. I took lessons, like piano lessons and that kind of thing, but I think the thing that I valued the most was just being around other people that were challenging and had a passion and love for music. So, it’s just always been in my blood and I’m just very grateful to have that background of music.
You signed your first record deal at the age of 18. What was that experience like for you and what led to decide to start releasing your music independently in 2011?
So I met an artist who’s name is Plumb when I was 17. I had just graduated high school and I handed her a CD at a festival and she ended up listening to it and calling me the next day. She was the one who basically brought me up to Nashville and introduced me to most of the record labels here and publishers and booking agents and managers. It was very intimidating and overwhelming, but at the same time I was very excited. I ended up signing with Sparrow Records when I was 18 and made an album and a couple of EPs with them, which was fine. But, you know, as quickly as it rose to the top, it came crashing down. And so I walked away from the label, just because…I think it was more of a mutual decision. I felt like they were about to drop me anyways, so I left before they could (laughs)! I thought I would just go straight into another record deal and that it would happen just as easily as the first time, but it did not happen that way. I ended up kind of having to rebuild everything from the ground up and was independent for a while and tried to do things independently. It’s been a long journey of just, kind of, evolving and making music and finding my second record deal in 2016, which is who I’m with now-Curb Records. I’m very happy with that.
You’ve lived in Nashville for several years now. In being surrounded by so many talented artists and songwriters, you have said it can be both inspiring and sometimes a lot, as it can get a bit over-saturated. What were your early days in Nashville like and adjusting and finding your place withing the music scene?
It was a little bit overwhelming at first, coming here, especially because I had never really co-written before. I always wrote by myself, just like in my bedroom with my keyboard and would write songs and make music by myself. Well, with my brothers and sisters. But in coming here, it was just like “How is this going to be?” because a lot of times it was…well, at the time really I would be set up by a publisher and a stranger would walk in the room and then you kind of have to pour your heart out with this stranger and a song would come out (laughs). So it was very weird at first, to start co-writing. But then you kind of get in a rhythm and find your people. Some writers I connected with and others I didn’t connect with so much. The longer I lived here and the more I met more people and was just surrounded by the music, the more it was like “Ok. These are the people I feel the most comfortable with and feel like we produce the best music.” I even go out to LA now and have a group of people I work with there that I love. And always just, like, changing up the scenery a little bit. Sometimes, especially now, it can be a bit over-saturated and I have to say no a lot, when people ask to write, because it can be a lot, you know? I’m like, maybe one day but right now I’m not the person, because I have to balance my own relationships and my artistry and who I choose to write with and things like that. But yeah. I think, at some point, we all find our people and our place here.
What can you tell me about your experience songwriting in Nashville, with so many talented songwriters there? What have you learned and how do you feel you have grown as an artist in writing with other artists, especially having not co-written before arriving in Nashville?
I think, for me, it’s just been the experience of doing it. I think the biggest thing is just the first thing, like just diving in and doing it. I think people just get intimidated by the whole experience. I think the more I said yes and walked into rooms that I may have been intimidated by or wasn’t so sure about, the better I got. I always tell people who are like “How do you get to where you’re at?” to position yourself with people who are better than you. Because ultimately, you’re going to be challenged by them and it will force you to grow. Even beyond going to a music school, not that anything is wrong with that, or beyond, just, taking lessons, I think there is just something about immersing yourself into the experience. And just letting yourself make the mistakes and be the one in the room who doesn’t write anything for a minute, and then you walk out and take things from each experience and become better. Ultimately, you are then the one in the room crushing it (laughs), you know? And then people are learning from you. So I think, just do it and get the experience. That’s what I always tell people. Just say yes because you never know what will come from that yes.
While pursuing your own music career, you have also devoted a lot of your time to crafting songs for other artists and for film and television. What can you tell me about writing songs for other artists, as opposed as for yourself, and how you got involved with writing music for film and television?
I started writing for film and television probably 6 or 7 years ago. I have some friends who had invited me in on some sessions and I had never written for tv or film before. I didn’t even know that was a thing. I just sat and observed for a minute, and was like “How do you actually do this?”. And they were like “It’s actually very easy, because you’re not the one who actually has to tell the story. You just have to create the background music for what’s on the film or promo.” The words and lyrics need to be vague and melodies need to have space, so it’s actually really a breath of fresh air when I write for film/tv because I don’t have to think that much. It’s kind of just more of a feeling. I’ve found a love for it and I’ve started doing more with the friends I knew with different promos and shows. From that, there’s just a whole realm of people, especially in Nashville, that I’m finding that I’m writing for, for film. I’ve had quite a bit of success in that world, just getting, like, different movie trailers and I’ve a couple of songs in Hallmark movies. And there was one in a national trailer for a Disney movie called Raya and the Last Dragon. It’s been cool. I’ll be sitting there watching tv and my voice is on the television and that’s always weird!
What can you tell me about growing up in the church and your faith and the role it plays in your music? When you signed your contract with Curb Records in 2016, you reinvented yourself, in a sense, and decided to try different genres and made the leap from being a Christian artist to one with more of a pop edge. What has that journey been like for you?
It’s been a long journey. I definitely established myself in the Christian music world, but I think at one point I just felt the tug outside of that industry. I felt like I was kind of reaching a ceiling and really wanted to say more in my music that sometimes was not really…I don’t want to say not welcomed…but I felt like I wanted to reach a broader audience and say more and talk about more things. I want to talk about life and love and heartbreak. We need more wholesome music in the world. It doesn’t have to be explicit pop songs. I think there should be more of those. So I’ve slowly started to make the transition over to a pop place and I love it so much. I feel so much freedom and having fans, even in the past year, that maybe don’t have faith in God but are listening to some of these songs and are finding freedom and healing in just me being vulnerable in some of my music that I’ve released, without even saying Jesus or God in my song. I mean, that is the foundation of everything that I do and will always be in me and a part of me, but ultimately my goal is to not preach to someone and shove the bible down someone’s throat. I want to inspire people and if a conversation leads to that, then that’s amazing and I will totally be there and have that conversation, but right now I’m just making music for more than the church and I’m finding so much fulfillment in that.
You will be releasing a new LP later this year and have said that going into it, you didn’t really have a clear vision for the album until you started talking to your friends in LA who are producers and songwriters. What can you tell me about the album and the process of writing and recording it?
Yeah. I spent some time out in LA with my group of writers and producers I work with there. They’ve become like my family. But that kind of happens before every record I go into, that I don’t really have a lot of clarity. A lot of people are like, “So. You just kind of wait for that inspiration to hit?” and I’m like “No”. Like I said in one of your other questions, I just go in there and start writing something until something clicks. And so, it took me a few songs before…we were in the studio and writing this song called “Best Days”, which is currently out and is also the title of the LP that’s coming out in September. But I walked in and was just going through a lot of personal stuff at the time and was just like “I want to write a song that’s like an anthem that’s so anthemic and hopeful, because I was actually feeling the opposite and I really needed to sing it over my own life. I felt like my time as an artist was kind of over and felt like I was getting older and like, I don’t know, maybe this isn’t going to work like I thought it was. And so, I just started singing out “What if the best days are ahead of us? What if the heartbreaks only lead to love?”. We had a bunch of people gathered around, all singing the song at the top of our lungs, and it kind of became the choir that you’ll hear in the track. That was the moment that I was like “This is the direction for the album that I want to go” and that’s when everything clicked and inspiration struck. I wrote pretty much all of the songs for the album that whole month. Just that one month. January 2022. Crazy!
You recorded the new album in LA. Was there a big difference for you in recording the album in LA as opposed to Nashville?
Yes and no. I think for me personally, when I’m working on a project, I like to get out of my familiar scenery. Going out there was just fresh for me and it was January when I was recording. January in Nashville just sucks (laughs)! It’s dark and depressing and I was like “I need sunshine in my life”. So, I went out there and that part was inspiring. I’ve just found a crew that are just on another level. They make me better and 2 of them are a Swedish couple who live in LA and another guy who is just an insane producer, vocalist, and songwriter. The first time I wrote with him, I’m like “I want you to do my record. I want to do this whole thing with you.” I love Nashville, but sometimes it’s nice to get away. With a lot of my albums, sometimes I’d even do a retreat and go to a place outside of Nashville. I don’t know what it is. Getting away and being so intentional, like “Ok. This is what we are working on.” No one is going home and going back to family. We can stay up until 2 AM if we want and just work on music. I try to be intentional with every project.
Could you talk a bit about your recent single “Get Back Your Fight”, which seems like it has resonated with a lot of people, and was the first song you’ve done that was 100% written and produced by you! How do you feel that the process of writing the song helped you to get your fight back?
I’ve been writing with other people and working with other producers for my whole career and this past year was the first time that I decided to really just…I’ve always wanted to learn production but just never did. I was too lazy (laughs)! But this year I felt like, “Alright. This is the moment where I want to just shut out the voices.” I was going through personal stuff and I find a lot of therapy in music in general, so I kind of got lost in the music and learning production. I was watching a ton of YouTube tutorials and calling my producer friends and asking questions. In the meantime, my label was saying I needed to post on social media and be active on there, because we needed to get all of the new music out and market it. So I turned my camera around on my phone as I was learning production. The lyrics and melodies have always come on top of these tracks that I was making and so one day the song “Get Back Your Fight” came out. It’s a very personal and vulnerable song, because I was just trying to find my fight and my strength that I had lost. I put it out on Instagram and noticed so many people responding to it. I posted the second verse a couple of days later and the same thing happened. My label was like “Alright. There’s something happening with this song and we want you to actually finish it.” At the time I thought I needed to bring in this co-producer to help me, because that’s what I knew, and then I just sat back and thought “I think I can do this by myself.” And so I challenged myself and I zoned in and finished it and called my brother, who lives in Oregon, and he mixed the song and then put it out. I’m super proud of it. It was a big accomplishment.
What was the idea behind the music video for the song and what was the filming process like?
I had a vision of, basically, 2 of me. The me that was struggling the past couple of years, who was dealing with a lot of anxiety and depression. There would be nights where I was alone in my apartment, crying on my bathroom floor, not knowing if I would be able to make it. I hit rock bottom over the last year and a half. And then, as I have found my strength this year, I feel like I’ve awakened as a new woman. With this video, I wanted there to be older and newer versions of me, with the new version of me, the now version of me, talking to that old version of me and being like “I promise, one day, you’re gonna get back your fight. You’re going to get through this.” And so, I called my video director, who lives in Albuquerque, NM, and she was like “Alright. Let’s roll with this.” And I had the idea of putting, like, fashionable warpaint on my face. I made that the cover for the song, as well. And then, he took it over the top and we did some abstract stuff in it and I’m really happy with the way it came out.
You have talked about when you started making and releasing music, that it didn’t require much of an online presence, whereas now, you have to continually push out content and focus more on social media. What has that been like, with regards to your relationship to social media? How has that changed?
You know, at first I complained about it a lot (laughs)! When I started, there was no such thing. I mean, there was Myspace, that was about it. I’m sharing my age right now (laughs)! I had to kind of re-program the way that I thought about it. I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. I, especially in the last year, decided to just kind of embrace it and actually be appreciative of the fact that it is a free resource in my hand as an artist. Why would I not use it to put myself out there? Do I think it should be the only form of marketing for artists? No. But I do think that it is helpful if we can use it the right way, and for me, I’m not super into all of this trendy type thing. I was like, if I’m going to do this, I want to make it my own and try to stand out. I’ve kind of found my thing, I think, this year with producing and performing some of these new songs that people are gravitating towards. I have a bit of a new perspective and outlook on social media and I’m grateful for it. I do think that it can be over-saturated and a little annoying at times, but I just try to figure it out and stop complaining because this is just how it is right now. It’s free and it’s work but that’s what we’re all doing. It’s not just all fun all the time. It’s a part of our job to work. And I’m appreciative of the fans I have on there that have access to the music that otherwise wouldn’t if I wasn’t on the platforms. That’s how a lot of people are finding the music, so I’m grateful for it.
What kinds of things do you like to do outside of music?
(Laughs) What do I do? Sleep? I love to sleep! I like to hang out with my friends and go out and finding new places and new restaurants. I have so many great friends here in Nashville. If I’m not working on music, I’m probably hanging out with them. Or sleeping (laughs)!
You have a new music video coming out that you are working on. Is there anything you can tell me about that and what else is next for you? What do you have coming up and what does the future hold?
I have a song called “Billboards On Sunset”, that I actually just announced today on my social media, coming out on August 11th. I went out to LA, and like I said, I did my whole record out there, and a lot of the time I stayed on Sunset Blvd and my view would be of all of these billboards. I don’t know if you’ve ever been out there, but on Sunset Blvd all of the building have LED screens and flashing lights. I had a list of titles in my phone and one title I wrote down was “Billboards On Sunset” and was like “I don’t know if that could ever be a song, but we’ll see.” I was with one of my co-writers and was like “Here’s my list of titles” and they were like “Hmmm. Billboards On Sunset. That sounds interesting. How can we write a song around that?” We ended up writing the next single that’s coming out and then I went back out there and did a music video, driving around in a convertible on Sunset Blvd. And then my director had me on a green screen and I’m actually on the billboard in the music video, which is fun. I don’t know how he does all of that! It was cool. And the full album comes out September 22nd and it’s called Best Days and there are 16 songs on the project.
