Lyndsey Buchanan: Behind The Life & Music

We have had the pleasure of getting to know Lyndsey a little bit over the past few weeks, and she is a very insightful, smart, beautiful, and TALENTED woman. We cant wait to see what the future holds for her (it looks bright). She is good friends with our very own Celsey Braddock, they both show that the women of country music are a force to be reckoned with, especially together. The following is an interview conducted as the next part of our Behind The Life & The Music Series and Lyndsey Buchanan is a perfect fit. She represents everything we love. Don't forget to check out her new single Skeletons which has over 22,000 streams on Spotify and increasing!

Interview

Background

I picked up a guitar at age 11 after growing up listening to my dad play around the house. When I was 12 and had learned three or four chords, my mom would take me to the VFW in my hometown of Anson, and I would sit in the bar and play to the regulars. At 15 I played my first paid acoustic gig in Abilene at the Firehouse Bar & Grill. For the last 15 years, I’ve been married and divorced, up, down, and in between but music has and always will be the constant in my life. I moved to Fort Worth in 2018 to be a part of my favorite music scene at the historic Stockyards. In 2019, I recorded my first EP called “Tequila Sun”, followed by my latest single this year, “Skeletons”; all of which were written by me, harmonies sang by me, and arranged by the infamous Milo Deering. I am constantly writing, recording when the funds are there, and playing gigs solo acoustic anywhere that will have me. 

Who are your band members (If any) and what do they play? No band at the moment. Some day I would love to wrap myself in steel guitar and fiddle on stage. The best part about playing solo is the sense of musicianship you develop trying to have as much impact performing acoustic as you would with a full band.

Who are you inspired by? I have a big heart for gritty, direct, heart-wrenching, down-on-your-luck lyrics and melodies. James McMurtry, Kasey Chambers, Chris Cornell, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Courtney Love, Dwight Yoakam. 

What is your musical history? (When did you first start playing music) Before I picked up the guitar, I was already a band nerd from fifth grade onward. I played the flute, went to band camp, marching band, solo & ensemble, all-district band, all-region band. I was actually Michelle Flaherty. Before that, I always knew I was musically inclined because I could find harmonies to any song. I say any song, I mean any genre. I grew up listening to everything from Tejano to Jazz.

What's the biggest problem you have had to overcome? The biggest problem I have had to overcome is being comfortable in my own skin. I spent a large part of my life seeking acceptance from others and burying myself in a poor self-image. 

I just turned 30, and I have found more freedom to be myself as I age. Perfection is an illusion. 

Are there hidden meanings to your music? Every person is going to find something different when they listen to my songs. I write from a place of depth that is unique to myself, my beliefs, and my experiences (good, bad, and ugly). To be totally honest, when I wrote Skeletons a couple of years ago and I never intended to record it. I never played it at my shows. It comes from the old saying about people having skeletons in their closet. Mine was my failed marriage. Heavy on the “was”. Songwriting has a funny way of making you face your fears for the sake of stripping those situations of their power over your heart and mind. All I can hope for my listeners is that whatever meaning they find in my songs gives them the fortitude to do the same.

If you could change anything about the industry what would it be? Ah, yes. My least favorite subject. I don’t have any desire to change the industry. At the end of the day, the purpose of any industry is to make money. You gotta have it to make it. I say, let the industry be the industry and you be you. Do what you can with what you have and be true to yourself.

What is one venue you dream of playing? I would love to play a full-band show at Billy Bob’s Texas someday. 

What do you do for fun? When it comes to fun, I’m a country girl and a big summertime person. I love to ride horses, go spotlighting, hunting, back roading, go to the gun range, float the river, sit around a fire with cold beer and guitars, and every once in a while just hit the road for a few hours and drive to the beach, the mountains; whatever my soul is needing at the time.

Are you working on any new music? If you wish, tell us about it I am always working on new music. I am constantly reaching for a feeling, sentence, concept, to turn into a song. My songs are just collections of these habits. Sometimes something I thought about a year ago resonates with something I heard yesterday. Sometimes it’s like a match to gasoline and a song will manifest, sometimes it needs more time. All things in due time.

Listen To Her Music!