Award-winning singer-songwriter Grace Pettis, winner of NPR’s Mountain Stage New Song Contest and recipient of grants from the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, has just released her third album Down To The Letter, where she has finely tuned her heartbreak journey into a satisfying, cathartic release, song after song. The album’s country folk sound blends the heavy emotions that come with divorce and healing. On her new album, you can find featured artists Mary Bragg, Robby Hecht, and Emily Scott Robinson. She is currently on tour, making her way along the East Coast through August 2024, stopping at downtown’s Cafe Wha club July 5.
Influenced by her childhood upbringing in the deep south of Atlanta and Georgia and her musically inclined family, her father being singer-songwriter Pierce Pettis, she reminisces on music from her childhood. Growing up, she would sing and make up songs, join in choir from the ages of 8-18, and learn how to play the piano and the guitar. Folk was a large influence in her household and she lists that R&B, jazz, Black gospel, and soul music were the genres that she was drawn to, along with the traditional bluegrass, country, and mountain gospel of the South.
Pettis describes her writing as a form of compulsion, a reflex, to help her process and work through overwhelming thoughts and feelings that she needs to push out of her mind.
“I separated in 2021…got divorced in 2022,” Pettis reflects. “I’ve certainly done a lot of healing and growing in that span of time. I’m a different person than I was even a year ago, and certainly than I was three years ago. Healing and recovery are ongoing; there’s no end date when you’re “better.” I’ll be doing that for the rest of my life, but I’m proud of how much I’ve survived and of the person that it made; the person I’ve chosen to be because of it.”
The insights towards self-growth fuel her lyrics with lines such as “That white gold band, so warped and worn, it didn’t even fit on my hand anymore” from Sobering Up and “Every day gets better and I got bad bruises, but the good news is I take care of me now.” from I Take Care Of Me Now. When asked if she has a favorite song in the album Down To The Letter, she admits that she is close with each song, however, she does highlight Rain as her favorite produced song, and Sobering Up and Vivian representing some of her best writing.
Photo by Starla Dawn
When asked about future plans in regard to music and possible changes in genre style, Pettis states, “I don’t really go into making albums with a genre in mind. I let the songs I’ve been writing dictate what kind of album I’ll make. Different songs ask for different treatments.” Her first two albums are categorized as country, consisting of that traditional tone, whereas Down To The Letter has the softer, introspecting, storytelling side of folk while still holding true to country origins. Pettis wants to reach as many people through her music as she can.
“My albums come straight out of my songwriting, which comes straight out of my life and current vantage point as a human, and from my external circumstances in the world at large during that chapter of my life.” She describes a few dream projects of hers that she would love to get a chance to work on ranging from making a jazz record, an entire album composed of her friends’ songs that she covers as there are many that she would love to sing, and a family album consisting of hers and her brothers George and Rayvon where they create covers of each other’s songs and some of their dad’s songs as well.
Pettis loves collaborations. “My music does not exist in a vacuum. It’s heavily informed by the ecosystem I exist in.” She has worked on previous albums with Ruthie Foster, Megan Burtt, Hane Skott, Sav Buist, and Shanna in a Dress. She’s currently touring with Robby Hecht, Natalie Price, Rachel Laven, and Rachel Kilgour. She would like to be a part of a band with her friend Zach Berkman and also admits that if West Texas Exiles ever asks for her to join their band, that she would probably join in a heartbeat.
Anyone who has been away from home for long periods knows that homesickness and desire to have a small comfort of home and a way to settle down and relax during travels. Pettis brings her own pillow with her during all of her tours. As for ways to settle back and relax on the road, pampering, even in the smallest forms like a face mask, can go a long way. In terms of activities that she does to help her ‘unspool’ her mind are reading, journaling, puzzling, and comfort TV shows, specifically citing Star Trek, X-Files, West Wing, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Photo by Starla Dawn
Even with a busy schedule on the East Coast, Pettis stays approachable. “I have a lot of live touring to do… So it’s been great getting to see everybody in person and give actual hugs,” she explains her sentiments toward her fans, also revealing, “I’ve got a Patreon that’s been woefully neglected this year with the album release, which has been all-consuming. But I like to give them lots of cool treats when I can, like exclusive access to webcasts and new songs. And I have a Star Trek podcast that one of these days I’ll get back to making. I’ve got a newsletter too, which goes out sporadically and unpredictably, to the friends who are on that list.” Pettis plans to tour Europe, both to explore and visit her family. She also conveys her excitement about future plans in January-April 2025 for a temporary residency in New Mexico with the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation.
Pettis will be performing at Cafe Wha July 5th, and Down by the Creek House in Patchogue NY, on July 7. gracepettis.com