Carly Pearce is one of my favorite artists in all of Nashville right now.
She’s had quite a year so far, too, with the release of her recent album 29: Written In Stone, as well as her induction as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry a couple of months ago.
Carly cut her teeth playing at Dollywood for years before she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music, and she was even invited by Dolly Parton herself to join the Opry family. That in and of itself was a dream come true for Carly.
The night of her Opry induction was truly magical, as Trisha Yearwood inducted her and later performed Kitty Wells’ “Making Believe” with her alongside another legend in Jeannie Seely.
It was apparent just how special this moment was to Carly, too, who got her first chance to sing on the Opry stage before she was even signed to a major label and was still cleaning Airbnb’s to get by.
In a behind-the-scenes interview from the evening, she elaborated on how important this honor was for her and how so much heartbreak led her to a career-defining moment:
“I always had dreams of country music, nothing else. And, it’s truly all I’ve ever wanted. It feels like every dream I’ve ever had is coming true.
This past year has blown my mind as an artist, as a human. I feel like I’m using my pain for purpose and watching my music affect people, and also having a platform that allows me to show people it’s okay to go through things that are real in life.
And I feel like the Opry has always allowed me to be real, and to be me, and they took a chance on a 25 year old Airbnb cleaner. And I’ll never forget that. I think that I went through a lot of really difficult times in my own life that made me question a lot of things.
But something that was never questioned was whether or not country music had my back. And to see all of this start to come to fruition in a time when I needed it most, on the music that I feel like represents me so perfectly as an artist…
It all feels really right on time. And it’s brought me to this moment of just, wow, life is crazy and life is unexpected and life is hard, but it’s also really beautiful.
Other accolades, or a lot of other things about this career, can fade. Or you can be maybe not the shiny tool in the box. And what you can always go to sleep at night knowing is that you’re apart of this family. And nobody can ever take that away from you.
And that doesn’t diminish. And I think that’s really special.”
Trisha mentions that one of the main reasons Carly was standing on that stage as an inductee was because “gets it”.
After reading Carly’s responses in the interview, I don’t think that’s even a question. She understands the history of the genre, the sound of country music and the songwriting that made it what it is.
Perhaps most importantly, though, she understands why it’s imperative to honor all of that in her own music now.
I really can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than Carly. If anyone will make sure that the circle remains unbroken, it’s her:
