She recalled hearing a quote about creativity, something to the extent of: make something; you don’t have to share it with anyone.
That sentiment gave Evans agency to start writing songs. Influenced by John Prine and John Hartford, she started to do just that.
She had been playing violin in orchestras and chambers since she was ten, but it wasn’t until a family cookout around 2021 that Evans performed an original song on guitar, alone, in front of a crowd. There, she played “Canary,” a love story/tragedy about a wanderlust couple and a coal mine collapse.
Despite only having played guitar for a short while, the response garnered Evans encouragement to keep writing — to make something — and to continue sharing her voice.
This year, Evans, a stay-at-home mom, submitted a video performance of her song “Stay Afloat” to the Bluebird Golden Pick Contest: a now monthly contest put on by Nashville’s legendary venue, the Bluebird Cafe. The 90-cap listening room has been a launchpad for many notable artists, including Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks.
In September, Georgia Evans was crowned a Bluebird Golden Pick Contest winner.
She was putting her kids to bed when she got the notification.
“I checked my phone, and all of a sudden I was just so excited,” she said. “I was jumping up and down and yelling. It was an instinctual reaction. And then bedtime didn’t happen for another two hours because we were all just adrenaline-spiked.”
As a result of September’s contest, Evans won a Taylor American Dream guitar, a trip to the Taylor Guitars showroom in Nashville and tickets to a Bluebird Cafe show. Evans also had the chance to perform two original songs at Bluebird’s Open Mic Night on Sept. 16.
Musicians from all over the world — from California and Arizona to Canada and Ireland — played that night. Evans opened up the show.
“I was nervous; they have pictures of people that have been there, songwriters that mean a lot to lots of different people,” Evans said. “When I got up on stage, I was really trying to hold it together. All the emotions were just flowing through me.”
“Stay Afloat” is an exploration of Evans’ struggles navigating parenthood and mental health. While performing her contest-winning song, sniffles and other visceral responses were permeating the crowd, particularly at a table to her left. She made a point not to make eye contact, and to just keep playing.
Writing “Stay Afloat” was cathartic for Evans, too. It allowed her to explore the pressures put in place by the societal expectations of parenthood, and the strength it takes to hold your head above water — to stay afloat — especially when others are relying on you.
“I wrote it to let myself feel those feelings, just to say I can’t fix this necessarily but I can talk about it and I can share it with my children,” Evans said. “To say if they ever feel those feelings of guilt, failure, that it’s okay to feel them. And maybe by talking about them, we give them less power over us.”
The second half of the chorus — “You do your best to swim / But your arms are busy carrying all of them” — captures what it’s like to be overwhelmed. And even if relating to the song through the lens of parenthood isn’t entirely universal, carrying emotional weight is; some of us are just trying not to sink.
As a follow-up to her 2023 self-titled debut, Evans released “Stay Afloat” on Oct. 4. Like her previous record, the single is both self-produced and self-released. But the organic, stripped-down recording — with vocals and an acoustic guitar at the forefront — showcases Evans’ raw and honest lyrics in a way that a shinier production might have overshadowed.
Through her pseudonym Midwestern Mrs, Georgia Evans fuses the life of a mother with that of a musician, exploring the nuances of everyday experiences with the broader world around her via Americana.
She says the most meaningful thing about music is connecting with others. But maybe it’s also about making something, regardless if it’s shared with anyone. Although, if you do, like Evans did, there’s a chance you could have the incredible opportunity to play where greats have gotten their starts.
Contact this contributing music writer at branberry100@gmail.com.
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