Blair Bodine (NEW YORK CITY, NY)
This series of features highlights the 2015 NewSong Music finalists. Each artist is invited to Lincoln Center on January 7th for the opportunity to win the #NSM Grand Prize. We sat down with each finalist to learn more about their music and background. Hope you enjoy! #wheregreatartistsarediscovered #newsongmusic
BIO
Recently named the Grand Prize Lyric Winner for American Songwriter Magazine, Blair Bodine brings a compelling mix of lyrical mastery and soul-stirring melodies to her music. Accompanied by rich acoustic guitar, Blair’s songs uplift and unravel with themes of love, loss, and spirituality. Blair’s debut album was produced by four-time Grammy award-winner Glenn Barrett at Morningstar Studios in Ambler, PA, the town where she was born and raised. After a guitar-slinging stint in Nashville, Tennessee, Blair moved back to the Northeast in 2014 and now calls New York City home.
In addition to writing and touring, Blair is committed to music education. “I was very fortunate when I was younger. My Mom gave me a guitar for my 13th birthday and nurtured my love of music. She herself is a beautiful songwriter and knew what a positive impact that guitar would have on my life. These days, schools are cutting their music programs at an alarming rate. We need to make sure that we don’t lose the next generation of songwriters.” Committed to fostering a love of music, Blair currently works for Steven Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, where she writes curriculum for middle and high school teachers about the history of American popular music.
Since her album release in 2009, Blair has received multiple awards that recognize both her songwriting and performing abilities. She is thrilled to be named a finalist for the 2015 NewSong contest.
Q: What is your songwriting process?
A: For me, the process of songwriting is best described as, “Building the plane as you fly it.” I love stepping into a song and not being quite sure of where you will land when the process is through. When you begin a song, anything’s game: from the rhythm, to the chords, to the song structure; it’s a total puzzle. I try not to get too locked into my first idea and to always be open to change. The most important part of the process, for me, is showing up. So I guess songwriting is a lot like life that way!
Q:What does it mean to you to be selected as a NewSong finalist, and what do you hope to get out of the experience?
A: Total shock. I was really surprised and honored simultaneously. Is there a word for that? Suponored.
I am really excited to meet the other finalists later this week! And, of course, having the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center is incredible. Even though I am a relatively new New Yorker, the importance of Lincoln Center as a cultural institution stands out to me. I can’t wait to be there.
Q: How did you hear about New Song Music?
A: I think I first applied back in 2010, inspired by the artists I admire who have won this contest in the past. In 2011, I was fortunate to be selected as a regional semifinalist in the Southeast. I had a really wonderful experience connecting with a few of the semifinalists based in Nashville at that time. We spontaneously decided to get together and perform a concert in-the-round. That pretty much defines the NewSong Contest for me. A positive and collaborative contest where the true prize is connecting with other artists.
Q: What is currently happening with your music?
A: I’m hoping to release an album of new material in 2016. The more I say it, the more it becomes true. So yes. A new album in 2016 is definitely, probably, totally, maybe happening. It will be an album of tracks I wrote and recorded in Nashville over the years, along with a handful of songs that I’ve written since I’ve moved back to the Northeast.
