Interview: Courtney Cole Coming Back To Life

Singer-songwriter Courtney Cole was able to chat with Suburban Rose staff member Gabrielle about her recent hiatus and how it changed her life and art. Courtney talks about her musical history and even her new song "Spiritual," which is available to stream now.


You just came back from a hiatus. How does it feel to be getting back into the groove of things?

It feels like a whole new energy. I've been working on getting music out and playing shows for the past 9 years. It's really easy to just "go go go" and get burnt out. So I took a year off and moved to California. I found some new hobbies and new loves and it was amazing. That's where "Spiritual" came from.

When did you come to a realization that you were burning yourself out?

I was in Nashville and just touring so much and a bunch of things [were] ending. I was already exhausted and everything just shifted for me. It just felt exhausting, and one of those things where I had to sit back and just think, "Why am I trying so hard?" 

Do you feel that taking a break made you into a better artist?

For sure! It helped me see what I really wanted. For so long I was doing what other people saw me as. I truly discovered what I want and what I love in this last year, and it's been a really beautiful thing.

You went to Belmont University in Nashville and they're known for their music scene, do you feel like you had to conform?

So I went to Belmont and started playing country music which was natural because I grew up in the deep south. But I always felt like there was more that I wanted to say and do so I was always pushing the limit. That's why moving to L.A. has been so good for the artist side of me. I interned at a music company and after that ended I ended up working there as "promo coordinator" so I worked [...] hands-on with a lot of the artists and saw how they worked and handled their business, which really showed me what to do and what not to do.

Do you have anything else in the works?

I have so many songs that I'm so excited to release. They really tell my story and show who I am and who I wanted to be all along.

How was it writing "Spiritual"?

Honestly it was kind of spiritual. Not to be cheesy but it really was. The people I wrote it with, one is from LA and the other from Nashville so it was like two of my worlds colliding which was really cool! Secondly, I remember just sitting at the piano that day and I feel like that song just fell out of my mouth. It really showed me that I was feeling alive again. So many times I would sit down and nothing would come to me and I really started to think "Maybe this isn't for me," "I can't do this." Everything for sure has its time. But I'm really excited to be back and share this new side of me.



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