Meet Lizi Bailey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lizi Bailey.

Lizi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started writing music when I was a teenager. My mom was a classical pianist and she taught me to play. I also studied classical violin. I grew up in a large family and music was always present in my life. I grew up in church and that was the place I started singing. I kept writing whatever felt real and performing those songs when it made sense. Music I must do, it’s the only thing I know how to do really! I fell in love and got married young and started having babies and just wrote songs about all those human experiences. I learned guitar as an adult to have more options for creativity. I love the great singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, David Gray, and Feist, and the really soulful singers, too. Billie Holiday, Bill Withers, Van Morrison. They articulated parts of the human experience so beautifully. They sang from a deep and authentic place. I love that honesty in music, it inspires me!

I’ve recorded several albums, and lately, I’ve been releasing singles here and there. I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some very gifted people. My last full-length record was a collaboration with Houston-native Nate Robinson, talented producer, and drummer for the hip-hop artist LeCrae. He brought a lot of the soulfulness out of me, which was really fun.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve had to grow thick skin and to learn to appreciate criticism, that’s what really makes you better.

Writing songs takes focus and that can be a struggle too. There are so many distractions.

And I think every artist struggles with the question of “Is this really necessary and worth it?” Art is not really practical, and it doesn’t always make much money! There is always the voice in my head that doubts; that questions. But I am convinced we need music. Music is a universal human expression. We need songs for everything. Love, loss, joy, heartbreak, questions, fears, and I want to write about all those things!

Then there is the practical difficulty of learning to treat your art like a business, to figure out how to grow your audience; that’s an area where I really struggle. I’ve been too passive about promotion in the past, but I’m getting some help with marketing now, so that’s good! I’m always learning!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am currently reading a lot and focusing on writing meaningful and honest lyrics. I am asking questions and trying to listen for the answers and grow in understanding. Life is full and busy and it can be tough to carve out time to ask the big questions and wrestle with the mystery of things, but I am always trying. I am proud of my work and the songs from my album ‘Learning to be Human’ especially. Those are the most real and personal ones I’ve written so far, and that makes me happy!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I try to make really honest music. I write songs that come from real experiences, for better or worse. I want to be as authentic as possible about being human, learning, failing, loving, forgiving. I want to stir souls and inspire people to live deep, real lives. To ask questions and dig deep. And, of course, hard work is essential. It’s not enough just to have talent or ability. I’m learning that you have to work just as hard to get the music into people’s ears as you did to create it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lizibailey.com
• Email: info@lizibailey.com
• Instagram: lizibailey
• Facebook: facebook.com/lizibaileymusic
• Twitter: lizibailey

Image Credit:
Bohemian Photography, Daniel Karr Photography

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