We thought it would be nice to leave the Land of Oz for a change and go back to Kansas. Here we meet Sara Morgan – a “small-town girl chasing a big-time music dream”, as The Kansas City Star described herself. Sara’s a performing singer and songwriter we stumbled upon recently (btw. thank you Chad Bourquin) and we’re really happy she agreed to talk to us, because we’re sure you’ll fall in love with her music just as we did. Sara began her career not long ago but she’s making her name known very quickly, becoming Kansas City’s Best Newcomer for 2015. She’s performed at top venues and with huge artist like BJ Thomas, John Michael Montgomery, Michael Martin Murphey, Season 7 The Voice winner Craig Wayne Boyd, John Corbett, Sean Rowe among others.

The country influence in Sara’s music is obvious but there’s something more to it, something universal. There’s a certain fragile timelessness in her songs which could have been written anywhere between forty years and four months ago. There’s a very traditional feel to her compositions but you can clearly feel a modern refinement in the vocals, instrumentals and mastering. Sara’s singing is effortless and non-pretentious but fresh and very thrilling. She’s not only a great musician but also an amazing storyteller and her lyrics are smart and genuine. Her overall sound can be described as warm, gentle and brave in the same time.

This wonderful and seamless mix of genres, combined with Sara’s beautiful vocals, storytelling skills and amazing personality, will definitely make you feel a bit nostalgic and, maybe, fall in love.

Hi Sara, let’s start at the very beginning – when did you find out music was your thing? You play several instruments, don’t you

I’m not sure I ever found out it was my thing. I have always sang or played some kind of instrument since I was little. I was in choir and band from elementary school through junior high. I wrote poems and lyrics when I was a teenager, and for whatever reason threw all those notebooks and journals out at some point. I started dabbling in songwriting in college as a hobby one night when I didn’t have much to do and from there it has kind of snowballed! I’ve been playing out for just over two years now and I decided to really make it my thing this past August when I quit my 9-5 job to work full-time as a songwriter/performing musician.

I do play several instruments: guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo, ukulele…but I learned music theory and how to read music when I started playing the saxophone at 10 years old. It’s like riding a bike, and honestly probably what I’m the most confident playing (when my lungs are in the right shape!)

In your songs, you mention Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. What are your musical inspirations? I know you’re also a huge Loretta Lynn fan and you even got to meet her.

I really love country music, especially the legends….along with many other kinds of music. I love Johnny, Dolly, Hank, George Jones, Loretta, Vince Gill, Reba. So many. Growing up, the first song I knew all the words to was Chattahoochee by Alan Jackson. I have always been a super-fan of his music, lyrics, and his approach to the industry in general.

I did meet Loretta Lynn (twice actually). The first time was at the Americana Music Awards in Nashville at the Ryman in September of 2014. Two months later I met her again after I played her preshow in Kansas City. I got to go on her tour bus and sit down at her table and talk to her. When I was getting on the bus I remember thinking, “don’t trip up the stairs Sara.” I had my head down staring at the ground until I was in front of her. We talked for about twenty minutes about everything from music to awards shows to what I was doing, took pictures together, and she also signed my guitar. Right after that someone came and told her it was time to go (on stage) and I remember looking up to walk out and realized I had just been sitting in the presence of the Queen of Country Music. Me. How did that happen?!” As I was stepping off the bus I suddenly became aware of the fact that there were people screaming “Loretta! We love you, Loretta!” There were hundreds of people yelling her name, just waiting for a chance to catch a glimpse of her. I had been five feet from them the entire time, but was so nervous about talking to her that I hadn’t noticed them before! That was a defining moment for me.

“I want to be the kind of PERSON that people still want to see when I am in my 80’s.”

She didn’t have to allow me on that bus, but she did. She was incredibly gracious and kind. Exactly as I had imagined she would be. She’s a fantastic musician and writer. That, along with her character, is a great combination that has allowed her career to stand the test of time.

How would you define and describe your musical style?
My musical style is…hmm…I would say I’ve combined many influences. I don’t know how to write songs that sound the same. Everything is a totally different style, but I arrange the songs I’m going to perform to stay inside the country genre because that’s what I enjoy listening to. I would say my style is a mixture of Dolly, Loretta, and Norah Jones meets Alan Jackson maybe? I think those are the influences that come out the most in the way I construct songs.

Where do you get your songwriting inspiration besides music?
When I first started writing I just thought a lot. I would get an idea and then write the song. My ideas would only come from my head. Then, one night at a radio station someone said something that struck me so hard that I sat there and wrote a song in my head while I was singing live on the radio (whoops). The way I get ideas has changed dramatically since that night, and now I get them by listening. I listen to people talking to each other, singing, introducing their songs, and sometimes by listening to TV shows and commercials. I often get ideas by listening to the silence. As strange as it sounds, occasionally I’m not in a writing mood at all, but a phrase will just run through my brain like someone whispered it in my ear, and I’ll have no idea where it came from. Learning how to listen and always be alert has changed my writing. I guess I just always have my ears on now.

You’re a wonderful solo artist but you also play with a band – can you tell us a bit about the people you perform with?
Well, thank you. 🙂 I do often play with a backing band. Chris Bradley is my bass player, Duncan Burnett plays the drums, Bobby DeMoss plays the pedal steel (it ain’t country if you don’t have a pedal steel!) and Pastor Carl Butler plays the lead guitar. My band is an interesting combination. Carl and Bobby are in their 60’s, so that traditional feel is very present in my live show and recordings. Duncan and Chris are in their mid-20’s and have played in rock bands, so they add a very modern feel to everything. The mesh (aesthetically and sonically) is exactly what I hoped it would be. I am not trying to recreate the music that was created in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s, but I don’t sound like what’s currently on the radio either. The combination of sounds actually seems to bridge the gap a little. At least, I hope! We have a good time and we all love each other. They’re all good people, talented players, and they make me better. I’m the greenest of us all!

What do you imagine your fans doing while listening to your music? (besides dancing and just enjoying it)
You know, I’ve never actually thought of that. I still cannot wrap my mind around anyone liking a song I wrote enough to actually turn it on in the first place.

Sara performing in Kansas

You’re a “buy local” girl – tell us a bit about that.
I am. I do my absolute best to buy local everything, especially food and clothing. I’m from a teeny, tiny farm town in Southeast Arkansas. I watched farmers go out and plow the fields when I was a kid and I played in rows of cotton. I liked putting on a new t-shirt and imagining “this came from the field across the street.” Honestly, when I first moved to Kansas City when I was ten years old, my clothes meant a lot to me because the town I lived in grew cotton. What I had on probably wasn’t made from that exact cotton I saw grow all summer long, but my shirts made me feel like I had a piece of home with me when I left. Those kinds of experiences have really made me want to support local farmers and businesses.

How did you get your first gig?
Well, the first “gig” I had was at a restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas. My then guitar player/producer, Jason North, booked it for us. We had just recorded my first 13 songs and released a CD. We “opened” for Andy Frasco, and everyone was like, “how much of Andy’s set is she going to take up?” My first ticketed gig was at Knucklehead’s Saloon in Kansas City. Someone who heard me at a little bar in downtown KC took me to meet the owner, Frank Hicks. He had never met me before (or heard me sing) but he gave Jason and I a show two weeks later in the Gospel Lounge (a 55-seat listening room, one of three stages at the venue). That show is what really kick-started my performance career. I didn’t actually decide to seriously pursue the performance side of things until a few months ago, but that was my first performance gig where people had to pay to come — and it was just through a friend who thought I should play there!

Sara at the studio

What would you say to those of our readers who are just starting their musical journey?
Oh boy! Here is what I have learned over the last two years in a nutshell:

ALWAYS do what you say you will. Do not ever bail. I’ve never failed to show up, but I’ve had to fill in at the last minute for someone who canceled the day before their gig. People talk. Promoters talk. The first time you don’t show for something, everyone will know and it’s hard to make up for that.

Call people back. As soon as you can. There are hundreds of musicians locally who want the gig and thousands in some towns. I have done a little booking and the people who respond quickly are the ones I continue to work with. The people who stop responding mid-conversation or don’t respond at all I don’t reach out to again.

Be early. Whatever time you are told to be somewhere, be there 30 minutes before that. I’m a very early bird for gigs, meetings, and phone calls. I want time to fix whatever may go wrong and if nothing goes wrong, it’s more time to get to know the people around you.

This is a preference thing, but it’s something that I have heard talked about by promoters and venue owners: if you want music to be your job, don’t drink on stage. The stage is your office and you’re on the clock. Be professional at work, have fun after.

Music is important, but integrity and character are more important. Just like any other industry. it really often is about who you know. If you discipline yourself at your craft and focus on being a solid, genuine, dependable, HARD-working person who unapologetically believes in your craft, the people (that are right for you) that you need to know will knock on your door. When someone says you can do anything you want to they’re not lying, but the key words in that sentence are “you” and “want to.” You have to really want to do it, not want someone else to do it for you. Hard work pays off.

These are just the things that have really helped me^^

A different point of view 😉

Name three musicians or bands we’ve probably never heard before but are definitely worth checking out.

I’m sure you’ve heard of her, but I’m going to name her anyway:

Samantha Fish. Aside from being an incredibly talented songwriter and guitar player, she is extremely kind. If you like the Blues/Americana Roots Rock, she’s your girl.

Matthew Fowler. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him a bit over the last year or so. His Americana music is wonderful. I love watching him playing alone. His performances are spiritual. He could be singing about the candy aisle at the grocery store and I would be trying not to cry through every word of it.

Stephanie Urbina Jones. You may have heard of her as she had a hit song recorded by a winner of The Voice. She came to Kansas City for Folk Alliance last year and I fell in love with her material. She sings country songs with a Spanish twist. If it were a food it would be something like Tex-Mex (as she’s from Texas). I love her writing. “Mariachis Make me Cry” made me cry.

What do you think of Drooble? Do you think people can meet, jam, learn and earn money from music online?

A lot of collaborative work is done online now. Drooble is a great tool to connect to people in those joint efforts. I personally think the internet has been a beautiful tool for musicians, and sites like Drooble allow us to connect to people we otherwise wouldn’t be able to connect with face to face. It offers options for learning, growing, connecting, and allowing artists to earn money through different revenue streams. Always good. 🙂

Any of your own thoughts you’d like to add?

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! 🙂

Sara Morgan, from Kansas, USA. Follow her at drooble.com/sara.morgan