Lydia Luce has been an artist on my periphery for a while now. As an artist residing in and very much involved in the East Nashville community, our friends and artists we both love are a shared pool of talent and acquaintances. I have been aware of her music for a while now, but only recently given it the proper consideration it so absolutely deserves…and I am a fool for waiting so long to take the plunge and submerge myself in her songs.

She is an anomaly of sorts. A brilliant string player and arranger who’s folk and roots sentiments intermingle seamlessly together. Two things that seem at times polar opposites and when put into the hands of a less talented artist might crumble where she is able to mold it into something that shimmers and shines. A stunning marriage of two traditions, one classical and perfected and the other with just the right amount of grit and heart. There is extreme beauty in the delicate dance that her voice engages with the sweeping warmth of the string arrangements in her “My Heart in Mind” String Sessions.

The song flows with the effortless grace of a mountain stream, but contains the power beneath to sweep you away in its current. Luce mentioned on her social media that, “This song is about letting someone go when you know they need it. Giving them space and time even when it’s difficult to say goodbye.” Her songs, her voice and her writing are evocative and relatable in that way, where as a listen you can inject your own life into the lines of her songs. The pain and heartache that is so very human and she is so good at portraying in verse. Affecting and gorgeous while haunting and heartbreaking, all in one breath.

If you don’t already know Luce’s work, don’t be like me and hesitate. Get on it today and pick up her latest record “Azalea” on whatever platform you prefer to do such things. I’ll be sitting here with this song on repeat…