INTERVIEW: Holly Lerski Finds Americana Joy From the UK to Nashville
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Holly Lerski had to take a long, long trip before her new album, Sweet Decline, could happen. Not just the road trip she took that inspired the thing, but Lerski decamped from her home in the UK to record the album in Nashville. Sweet Decline was inspired by a breakup, and the subsequent solo road trip Lerski took through the US to heal. This is her fifth studio album and draws influences from Bob Dylan, Tori Amos, and everyone in between. In our interview, Lerski discusses the journey to Sweet Decline and the fans that have carried her along the way.
Explain the title of your album.
Sweet Decline is from a song that came to me toward the end of my second California road trip, getting over heartbreak. I was driving up the 395, which is this scenic highway in California. Sierra Nevada was on the left, Death Valley and desert on my right, and I saw this landscape and mountains in front of me. It looked like a woman’s body, lying down. So there I was, finally feeling okay about life – in the moment on the road – but that took me straight back to thinking about my ex. I started to miss her again and this song came.
Does your album have an overarching theme?
Absolutely. It’s a song cycle, and the track order is pretty much a travelogue of the places I was in both physically and emotionally at the time as I road tripped and healed myself. It goes from heartbreak and loneliness at the beginning, to feeling so tapped into life by the end of it, I felt incredible. So I guess the overarching message to it is – life is everything. Life, love, whatever word you use to describe it. It’s one and the same thing. An energy. So go out there, engage with life and people, and create beautiful sparks. Rainbow-colored ones.
Where are some places you’ve found joy within the country/Americana world?
I would say Nashville. Viewing it from England, you get a very one-dimensional version of it. But when I got there, I found it to be incredibly diverse and full of proactive, positive change. Artists like Allison RusselI, Kyshona, Adeem the Artist, and SistaStrings (who, by the way, play on my album) all seem to be involved in positive social movements. In fact, last year’s AmericanaFest just knocked me out the way it was full of that kind of thing. And East Nashville is full of that every day. That’s a place I feel a lot of joy.
What would you like people to know about your coming out experience?
I think I’d like people to know I came out in a time when the government in England had just prohibited the promotion of homosexuality in schools – something called Section 28. A terrible thing, especially since AIDS was at its height and schools weren’t allowed to educate kids on safe sex. We all marched against it. This was the same time American artists like Tracy Chapman, Indigo Girls, and Melissa Etheridge were exploding on the scene, so things were very polarized back then. I was luckier than most. My uncle came out in the 1970s, not long after homosexuality had been decriminalized, so my family was always supportive of me.
Have you ever been given something remarkable by a fan?
Yes, a couple of things. I’m a huge fan of Jeff Buckley, and, many years ago, I remember being given this rare “Mystery White Boy” promo at a gig in Wales. I was so touched. At the time, my band, Angelou, had just covered “Hallelujah” so everyone knew how mad I was about him. A recent gift that really touched me though was a hand-carved wooden plectrum, from a whitethorn tree near Glastonbury, so I’m told. I’m hoping it’s magical.
Holly Lerski — Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Substack
Howdy, cowpoke! We’re right in the middle of the fundraiser for issue 4 of the Rainbow Rodeo zine! If you want to keep supporting queer country artists like Holly Lerski, pre-order your copy, cop a t-shirt, or make a donation here!
