Singer-Songwriter Grace O'Shea on Nashville, Creativity and Her New Single "Blinked"

Moving to Nashville might seem daunting but for singer-songwriter Grace O’Shea, it was a no brainer.

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It’s no secret that Nashville is home to legendary country music venues like the Grand Ole Opry House or stars like Dolly Parton. It’s any aspiring country musician’s dream and Grace O’Shea is no exception. A senior at Belmont University, O’Shea said she “fell in love with Nashville immediately” and that the transition wasn’t hard.

O’Shea’s journey began in the sixth grade with her love of poetry. It was an outlet for processing her emotions and when she learned the guitar in eighth grade, the connect happened.

“It’s not something that I wanted to do but almost a need. Even if music wasn’t my career, I would still be writing songs.”

Although O’Shea is pursuing a career in music - her single “Blinked” dropped this past Friday - it’s not all about the listener count. It’s a nice perk she admits, but music is a driving force within her. Even if she wasn’t releasing music and establishing a name for herself, O’Shea is certain it would be a major part of her life. For her, it’s all about creativity.

“It’s never a formulated process.”

There’s no one way to be creative. Some people are spontaneous and others meticulous. Grace O’Shea’s process isn’t formulated. The singer-songwriter says

that “long walks alone with my thoughts and nature” are key and that “song ideas come to [her] as a melody with lyrics.” O’Shea also stresses how important it is to write everyday while simultaneously blocking the world out. She’s a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s theory that all ideas are things that are out in the world already; we just need to be receptive to them.

As if her musical talent wasn’t impressive enough, Grace O’Shea co-founded the all-female business, Hen House, and worked there from 2018 - 2020. During our interview, O’Shea taught me that 98% of music producers are male and 95% of audio engineers are also male. Along with her friend Claire Bidigare-Curtis, the two recognized that a change needed to happen and decided to make a difference by creating Hen House which serves to highlight, empower and help women navigate the music industry. It was a difficult decision to part ways O’Shea said, but she realized she needed to in order to pursue her musical career.

“The music industry is ever changing. Nowadays, the best strategy is to put out a bunch of singles, but I’m an album person.”

This year, Grace O’Shea is releasing two EP’s, each consisting of three songs. The single, Blinked, from her first EP titled Unabashedly is available now on Spotify. O’Shea said that she loves the word ‘Unabashedly’ as it means to be free from fear and embarrassment which allows you to be who you truly are. She revealed that this upcoming EP is unlike anything else she has written and steers away from the

typical country sound. The EP does not have a set release date yet, but it will be available under her Spotify sometime this Spring. In the Fall of 2021, we can also expect O’Shea’s second EP titled “Anchors and Arrows” which has “hometown connections and a nostalgic” vibe.

“It’s really easy to be intimidated when starting out in the industry. Be really sure in your art and make sure you have a couple people in your corner. Networking is huge.”

So, like the viral Tik Tok trend says, if you like artists like Kacey Musgraves and songwriters like Lori McKenna, then you’ll love Grace O’Shea. Listen to her song “Blinked” on Spotify and make sure to keep an eye out for upcoming content from this kickass singer-songwriter, Grace O’Shea. You can do so here at her website!