The Nashville-based country artist and singer-songwriter Carrie Cunningham tells the tale of a touring artist on the road through her latest single, "Showgirl."
Based in Nashville and Huntington Beach, CA, Carrie Cunningham has been touring for over two decades, performing on over 1000 stages. Sharing those stages with acts like Kacey Musgraves, Charlie Daniels, Jake Owen, and many more, Carrie Cunningham is more than ready to get back on the road.
Fueling her latest single with the energy and passion she obtains for performing, Carrie Cunningham's "Showgirl," reminds us of her ever-lasting enthusiasm. The upbeat country tune brings us back into the sweltering bars and venues that we dearly miss, especially as Carrie Cunningham sings her heart out for us to savor.
Opening "Showgirl" is a soulful and energetic acoustic guitar, a blazing rhythm guitar, and lush drum patterns. As Carrie Cunningham begins pouring her sweet vocal stylings over the track, she starts singing reminiscent lyricism of those long nights on the road and promising to embody that energy and drive forever.
The song's catchy feel and rhythmic hooks keep us thoroughly captivated, especially as Carrie Cunningham continues her lyrical venture with witty words and sharp delivery. We'd genuinely love to see Carrie Cunningham live in concert, as the song offers immense energy that matches her engaging and exciting performance.
Remind yourself of the restless nights at the bar with Carrie Cunningham's energetic and lively single, "Showgirl," now available on all streaming platforms.
Welcome back to BuzzMusic Carrie, it's always a pleasure sitting down and chatting with you. We highly admire the energy and life you've brought to your single, "Showgirl." What inspired you to create an ode to performing with this song?
Thank you! This song, which I have come to realize is my anthem song, was written while I was on the road coming off my last tour for 2019. The way things were heading, I was getting burnt out with the tour life. Don't get me wrong, I love performing! I need it to keep me sane, lol, but I had decided I was going to go off the road for a bit, for various reasons. As I was driving from Washington state to Southern California, I had this little mind game I was playing with myself. Every time I passed 100 miles, I would look at the time and guess how much longer until I made it home. I was guessing I would roll into my driveway around 11:30 pm...That's how the first verse came to write itself. The next thing I knew, I was singing it into my phone and reflecting on my life as a musician.
When forming the upbeat and lively instrumentals for "Showgirl," were you accompanied by many producers, musicians, or engineers?
No, I write the lyrics and melody for most of my songs. This one being a solo write, it was all me. I instruct my musicians on what to play, but still, let them throw a bit of themselves in it as well. My guitarist, Justin Weaver, has the most amount of freedom. The others, I am usually a little tighter on, just because of my producer's hat. I always work with Sean Spence at Blue Grotto Sound in Brentwood, Tennesse. He is a great engineer and knows my background as a live sound engineer, so he pretty much lets me take the lead on things. I tell him what kind of instrumentation I need, and he lines up the musicians. I always give him co-producing credit as well.
We've heard that you're creating a Showgirl Series. What should we expect from this series? Will you be releasing a full-length album?
Yes, I started in January, Releasing a single on the 11th of every month. It's exciting and a lot of work! The moment a song goes live, I am uploading the next one to my distributor. Constant wheels in motion to keep the momentum for each song. As far as what to expect, I feel the songs I have selected show me as a writer and how I pull from different genres to create my sounds. I love all genres and if the song is great, I don't care what genre it is. This series illustrates several genres, from country, pop, Americana, disco flare, reggae, southern rock. Storylines about life on the road, relationships, ideals that some people believe in and others don't, etc. Yes, I will be releasing all of these in full-length CD and vinyl, but nobody will be able to get the digital versions of the full length until the end of the year, for the sake of the individual releases. For the die-hard fans, they will be able to order physical CDs and vinyl from my website sometime in the summer, carrielive.com
Seeing as you're extremely passionate about performing, what should your audience expect from a typical live show? How do you keep your audience engaged?
Oh man, well, you can expect a lot of stage movement. I don't stand there. I get in the audience if the stage allows. I tend to not have a filter; I make people laugh a lot. I make sure my audience knows I love performing for them and I appreciate them. I don't like performing as "background noise" either, so I don't do well at coffee shops, etc. I expect to be the center of attention, lol. I never hide in a green room either. I'm always mingling and talking with my audience before or after a show.
What's next for you?
Well, I am working on the next round of songs. I am also working on my production skills along with other business aspects I have. I am a benefit auctioneer, focusing on fundraisers and nonprofits. If it has to do with children, I want to be involved. I incorporate the music business into it as well. I am staying extremely busy. If I slow down, I think something is wrong.