MOVING ON
Country singer turns the page with first new album in 6 years
Elizabeth Cook is a woman with many facets.
She’s a singer-songwriter who has graced the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, Tenn., more than 400 times.
She’s also host of “Apron Strings” on Sirius XM.
Not to mention her voice-over gigs on the animated series “Squidbillies.”
Despite keeping busy with all of the above, it’s been six years since Cook released an album.
Until this year. Cook recently released her album “Exodus of Venus,” and it’s been quite a journey.
“Finally, I’m getting back to performing new music,” she says during a recent phone interview. “It’s been great to get back and feel like I’m in charge again.”
There were many reasons that contributed to Cook’s hiatus from music.
During that time, Cook dealt with a divorce, a stint in rehab, a house fire and a few deaths of loved ones.
And she’s come back stronger and willing to try different ways of storytelling.
“We worked on the album for about six months,” she says. “With this album, I wanted the album to be musical-driven. With the help of Dexter Crane, going through all the channels proved to be the best for the songs. I had a lot of personal tragedies, and I wanted to get back to music. That’s been the No. 1 goal for me.”
On her current tour, she is performing the majority of the new album.
“I want people to hear these songs,” she says. “The body of work represents a time in my life that I’m trying to move forward from. It’s such a release.”
After years of juggling many parts of her career, Cook says there’s a method to the madness.
“Sometimes I drop all the balls,” she says with a laugh. “I try to keep it all together and just do the best that I can. The radio show is a great break for me because I can play music that I enjoy. It’s a totally different aspect from my music.”