Singer/songwriter Garrison Starr proudly proclaims that she’s “an individualist with a streak of passion.”
It’s an assessment few would argue with. Having spent her life growing up in the South, her music mixes up Nashville country twang with a solid dose of Tom Petty-like rock appeal.
Before leaving for the University of Mississippi in the fall of 1993, she had already played more than 100 shows. But Starr’s college stint was short-lived. After three semesters she packed her bags and began playing music full time.
Her 1996 EP, Stupid Girl, reflected upon her time spent in school. A year later, Starr issued her proper mainstream debut, Eighteen Over Me, a full throttle collection that exuded a new confidence and fresh musical direction. The songs were sultry, yet abrasive as she came into her own as an artist and an individual. Such a change didn’t last long, though, for Starr was a bit disenchanted with her life choices and faced self-doubts in her early twenties.
After a move from Nashville to Los Angeles, Starr and her longtime friend Clay Jones – who had supported her during an extended period of self doubt – began writing songs together. Starr took her time with the new material, creating a post-alternative and country twist collections of tunes that eventually became 2002’s Songs From Take-Off to Landing.
Starr made her Vanguard debut in 2004 with Airstreams & Satellite. The record received glowing reviews but Starr had become disenchanted with Los Angeles and soon decided to return to Nashville. She and her longtime collaborator, guitarist Neilson Hubbard, joined bassist/engineer Brad Jones for the production of Starr’s fifth album.
The Sound of You and Me, released in March 2006, was the most honest and emotional album of her career to date, though it was her next record, 2007’s The Girl That Killed September, that the singer still considers her own favorite. She’s yet to record its follow up, even though she has accumulated more than enough material for a new album. She’s instead focused on performing, maintaining a steady schedule both here and overseas.
Part of that schedule includes house concerts, a growing market that allows the artist to take creative chances in front of smaller and more appreciative audiences. Such a show brings her to Asheville for a September 30 performance. Joined by her friend Maia Sharp, Garrison will likely play both old favorites and new offerings.
IF YOU GO: House Party with Garrison Starr and Maia Sharp on Sunday, September 30. The Creekside House Concert starts at 6 p.m. with tickets priced at $20. Email lynmcfarland@gmail.com for reservations and directions to this all ages performance.