Art is where the Heart is
Country star on new album that deals with rapes she suffered and taking back power
CALGARY native Lindsay Ell is more than just a country singer.
She is a songwriter, amazing guitarist and now a philanthropist, setting up her own foundation to help victims of sexual trauma.
The 31-year-old began playing piano at six before switching at eight to guitar, when she found her dad’s collection.
After being discovered at 13, she has toured with the likes of Keith Urban and amassed 123million streams.
With the sass of Sheryl Crow and the under-the-skin writing style of Taylor Swift she releases her fifth album, Heart Theory, today.
Being Canadian do you have any Scots roots?
My grandma is from the UK, so growing up she would always talk about her trips to Scotland with her family. I have been to Scotland a few times.
I truly love the culture, the music, the food. My first time was on my first worldwide tour with The Band Perry in 2013. I remember walking out of the O2 into the street after sound check to a street festival.
There were bagpipes and great street food. I immediately knew I had fallen in love with the place. In 2018, I was in Glasgow as part of the C2C tour with Kristian Bush and we got to celebrate our birthdays at a pub the night before the show. And in 2019 I was back and while sightseeing at Edinburgh Castle I found out that Brantley Gilbert and I had been nominated for a CMT Award for Collaboration Video of the Year. I was up earlier than him when the news broke, so I got to call and wake him to share the good news. I have so many great memories of Scotland.
How was lockdown for you? Did you set out to achieve anything?
Lockdown has been kinda crazy for me. I’m never home this much. Early on I decided that I was going to try and lean into it and make the best of it. Thankfully I had the record to finish and then all the work that goes into setting up an album for release.
How hard was it to not play live?
All I’ve done since I could drive is tour, so it’s been quite an adjustment.
Not only am I not used to sitting still but not having the interaction with the crowds and fans has been something I’ve really missed.
In July, you revealed you were a sexual violence survivor. As well as the new album dealing with this you’ve also launched your own Make You Movement. Did you have reservations telling your story?
I felt every emotion possible from terror to excitement. I knew it was something that I needed to do just to help myself move forward but I was also fearful of the repercussions.
The best path to healing is to face things head on and deal with them. For so many years I’d bottled this up and it’s been very cathartic to take my power back.
Make You is very raw and honest. By talking about the subject, are you hoping young women will feel safer?
I have been trying to write this song for years, and it wasn’t until I worked with Brandy Clark that I felt like I had nailed the subject matter. I didn’t want to share my story without something that I believed was powerful enough to help my story be heard.
And it wasn’t particularly because I wanted my story to be heard but more that I wanted to use my platform of music to help other young
women and men who have been victimised to know that they are not alone. I started the Make You Movement to raise money to help important organisations like RAINN and Youth For Tomorrow.
Would you swap country for pop like Taylor Swift did?
Country music has been incredible to me and I don’t have any plans of leaving. However, the music I make does have ingredients from so many other genres, so it’s not out of the question that some of my music could cross into other genre playlists at radio and streaming.
What are your hopes and plans for 2020?
With touring off the table, I will be in Nashville. We will be doing some live stream concerts before the year ends.
Heart Theory is out today.