Morgan Lee Powers on Small Town Roots, Creative Resilience, and Songwriting Authenticity

As a part of our series about Nashville’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Morgan Lee Powers.

Morgan Lee Powers is a Country and Americana singer-songwriter living somewhere between Waco and Nashville. A native Texan, Morgan pulls inspiration from her upbringing in small town USA, her loving family and living as an aspiring musician, in her songwriting.

A recent graduate of Nashville’s esteemed Belmont University, Morgan is currently releasing a new string of singles with hit producer and engineer Sean Neff (Rascal Flatts, Alabama, Jason Crabb) at the helm.

Citing Hailey Whitters, Flatland Cavalry, Kacey Musgraves, Lori Mckenna, Cody Johnson, John Mayer, Zach Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Emmylou Harris as influences, Morgan’s unique blend of country music is poised and steady with a dash of grit.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born and raised in Waco, TX. I thank my lucky stars every day that I was given the parents and family that I have because they are truly the best people in the world (and I know everyone says this, but mine actually are). I grew up being super involved at church and a small school with only 12 kids in my class and the only thing that I ever found any interest in was writing songs. I was kind of a handful of a kid and was always making and creating new games and projects and I don’t think I ever really grew out of that. I loved to create. Also, I loved music and grew up with a fascination for it; every type of music. I loved (and still do) Christian, Country, and Classic Rock. And listening to those as I grew up really put me in a position to pursue music.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

It is the same sad story you’ve heard before, but many good songwriters (and even not so good songwriters) are born out of a heartbreak and my story is no different. Every naive high school girl thinks that their first boyfriend is going to be the one. I thought this about the first boy I ever liked, and he let me down. I was floored. I decided that I could not just cry about it, but I had to pull a classic Taylor Swift moment and take all these feelings of “I hate you, I love you, I miss you, I need you, you’re the worst and I never want to see you again” and compile them into a song so that I could tell him off and enact my juvenile revenge. But, being that this was the first song I ever really tried to write, it didn’t really turn out the way I wanted to. However, I got something even more incredible — I found an activity that I really truly loved; writing and playing my song for people who actually want to hear it.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I have been playing as a musician and singer on Broadway in Nashville and one night, I was doing a 6pm-10pm shift at Rippy’s and for the last hour of my set Michael Tate from the Newsboys came and stayed and watched my set. Then when I was done we had a long conversation and he put $20 in my tip jar and I shared my life story with him and he prayed over me. It was so wild and I thought it was so kind of him to do that.

It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

There is so much I have done wrong in my life and my career. I wrote a song a long time ago when I was in high school about my high school boyfriend ditching me for the girl next door. I produced it and released it and it was so embarrassing. I instantly regretted it and I still do. I learned a lot about myself and about reputation and friends and feelings, it was brutal — not exactly a funny mistake story, but petty me had to learn how to forgive and forget.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have been working on an album project that I recorded in Nashville with producer Sean Neff. The project is called “How Naive” and it is about the ups and downs of life and love for a young girl in a small southern town. I take stories from my own life, my friends’ lives and even my parents’ lives to create the stories and soundtrack to a small town summer. There are 5 single song releases that happen over the summer preceding the full project release date on August 18th.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

I have found success in my own way. This is a tricky question because it depends on how you define success. I have made goals and I have accomplished them, one of which being to write and produce my own album: in that I was successful. Now to move to the next goal. For others who are starting in this industry I would recommend setting small goals and checking them off one by one. Celebrate the little successes.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I am a 20 year old woman in the music industry. This is a very male dominated industry and additionally, it is full of old men. I feel like I have seen first hand the way that a hold has been placed on the music industry. There are constraints put on the requirements for music and for radio and being a young woman, I feel like it is easy to let other people walk all over us. mo

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and while you’re at it don’t take anyone else too seriously either. We are all just super scared and insecure and hoping everything turns out ok.
2. You don’t have to use everything that you write. You are bound to write some pretty stinky songs about some pretty stinky people, and you don’t have to use them all.
3. You are in charge of your own life and your own material. Don’t let anyone try to steal it from you, those are your stories.
4. Heartbreak doesn’t last forever. It may feel like it doesn’t, but it does, you just have to be able to outlast and overcome it.
5. You are so much stronger than you think you are. Believe that.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

I would recommend keeping a journal of little things. Observe, don’t just experience, write down everything you see and what you think about it. Tell stories, pay attention to your friends’ lives and tell their stories, there is a surplus of experiences to be had, you just have to look for them. There is so much more to everything than you think, try to see that and be thankful for that.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to inspire young girls who are struggling with body image issues to overcome that feeling of loneliness and self criticism. I have a song called “Hate My Mirror” that is about comparison and it is from a young girl’s perspective, seeing all of these other girls and wanting to be like them, but it is also about how those very same girls have these issues with their bodies as well. Overall, I just want to encourage young girls to realize that they are beautiful and they are not alone in their thoughts of comparison — it is overwhelming and crazy to think that these are the thoughts that girls have to deal with on a daily basis. I want to instill some love into those broken places.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I would not be where I am without my friend, mentor and first guitar teacher Josh Barnard. When I was 14 I decided that I was going to play guitar and Josh Barnard coached me through it. He encouraged me, taught me, and believed in me. He sat through many hours of me whining about the details of my life, he sat through many of my newly written songs that “needed work”. He has always encouraged me and helped me and he means so much to my life and my career, and I am forever grateful for him.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Do what sparks joy”. This is something that my dad says all the time. My life is built around the joy and the things that spark a fire within me. I would like to encourage readers to do what sparks joy within them so that they can use that to bring light into this world and love on others well. We have so much hate, I think that it would be nice if we could look at life with love.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

First of all, I would have to say that I am more of a brunch girl myself. As for the person I would love to pick the brain of Miss Hailey Whitters. I have a lot of respect for that woman as a songwriter and as a person. I love her music and I love her drive and work ethic; she has a song called “Ten Year Town” that I would love to know way more about. I want to know every little detail about how every song was written, and I want to know about all of the talented writers she has written with. She is truly an inspiration to me and my music.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find me on pretty much everything @morganleepowers or visit my website https://www.morganleepowers.com/

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!