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As a songwriter and musician, PJ Morton has basically done it all. For the past half-decade, Morton has earned Grammy Award nominations (and wins) every calendar year (including most recently this year for his work on Jon Batiste’s seminal record, We Are, which won Album of the Year). Morton, who grew up in New Orleans, has played multiple instruments, sang in the church, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the history of the art form. But while all of this makes for amazing memories and has allowed for many accolades, it can burn someone out. And that’s exactly what happened to Morton.

In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt it acutely. When the pandemic hit, Morton figured he could take a break for a few weeks, not knowing the crisis would continue for a few years. But the time off helped a great deal. When it first hit, Morton went back to his native New Orleans and began working on some music on his computer. But when his computer subsequently crashed, he had to take a real deep breath.

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Trombone Shorty doesn’t think about music in terms of genre. Rather, he thinks of different styles like different neighborhoods. It’s the result of the artist, born Troy Andrews, growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, a city where musical trends and energies are born and born again almost daily.

Andrews, who will release his latest LP, Lifted, on Friday (April 29) was born and raised in the Crescent City. He grew up with music like a fish does with water. It was everywhere—so much so that he didn’t even realize it. His brother, cousins, and other family members were ensconced in it. It was only in high school that Andrews even considered a life outside of music. But that wasn’t for long. Now, he’s one of the most accomplished and prolific players, able to weave between traditional jazz, rock, pop, and more.

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Dan Smith, frontman and principal songwriter for the British-born band Bastille, had an image in his mind—someone is sitting on the sofa. The room is dark. This person is wearing a virtual reality headset and, with it, in their mind, they are soaring over the whole world doing whatever they please. Smith knows how beautiful this is. How freeing for the person wearing the technology. But with this vision comes the question: how much of this is healthy?

When Smith wonders about this idea, he does so with a sense of openness and nuance. His is not a perspective decreeing that people should not use virtual reality or stare into their cellphones. In fact, Smith loves the idea of escapism—it’s a common theme in his life and work. However, he also knows that it’s fair to wonder, as we barrel toward our technology-laced futures, what is worth paying attention to?

These questions and more arise on Bastille’s latest album, the 13-track Give Me the Future, which dropped in the first week of February. The epic LP, which dives deep into questions of time, technology, and the value of human relationships, offers its listeners as many questions as it does answers, all while myriad voice tracks, big rhythms, and catchy melodies toy with your ears.

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Julian Lennon has long had a tumultuous relationship with the music business. But with the music itself? He loves it. He loves the way it can change a person’s mood in a split second or in a “New York minute.” For Lennon, who is the son of the late legendary Beatle, John Lennon, music can help to elevate the listener out of dark places. He knows this magic firsthand. This is why Lennon’s latest singles—“Freedom” and “Every Little Moment”—are so poignant, both in and of themselves, and at a time war is taking place in Ukraine. The songs, which Lennon released last week, offer emotional aid in a difficult global time, as much as they give assistance to those experiencing difficult personal times internally. And Lennon’s latest release—a cover of his father’s most famous song, “Imagine”—also offers a helping hand in a great time of need and shall continue to, most likely.

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It was a miracle. That’s how Grammy Award-winning musician Lani Hall describes it. Hall, who remembers singing songs from the radio in the backseat of her dad’s car at two years old, absorbing them, learning them, would later begin to sing them in her bedroom. They were mostly jazz standards at the time. And doing so was a transforming experience. While she never thought she would become a professional singer, she couldn’t get enough music. But at the same time, Hall kept it all a secret. Until one day. When she was in her late teens, a friend who worked at a nightclub came by her house unexpectedly and heard her singing through her bedroom door. From that chance encounter, a career blossomed. And today that career includes Hall’s forthcoming tender album, Seasons of Love, which is set to release on April 22—her first solo LP in nearly 25 years.

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Ellie Rowsell, frontwoman for the British-born dream-pop band Wolf Alice, grew up shy. She remembers playing traditional Irish music as a young person, but she didn’t much take to it at first. Like many kids, she wanted to be outside with her friends. But soon she learned that she loved songs, especially singing them.

At first, Rowsell played flute and the tin whistle. But as she began to sing, as the words and melodies tumbled from her lips, she became more entranced by the act. Now, Rowsell and her band are entrancing audiences all over the world—almost like a musical love potion. And the band will continue as they head out on their global touring schedule in 2022, which spans stops in Australia, North America, and a myriad of festivals all over.

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When does the process of making a record begin? Is it when the engineer in the studio says ‘Rolling?’ Is it when the first bit of ink sinks into an otherwise blank sheet of paper? Is it when a band first gets together and promises kinship through an inevitably up and down handful of years, or longer?

For the popular duo-brother band For King & Country, the first light of their forthcoming LP (their fifth), What Are We Waiting For? flickered at 3 in the morning one night on a tour bus. The group had released a track or two that would find their way onto the new LP by that time, but it was then that entire concepts began to take shape.

That record is set to drop on Friday, March 11 and what it means for the band and for its fans will soon be seen, heard and felt in real-time as the brothers hit the road on a lengthy spring tour.

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For acclaimed blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, who is often hailed as the “next big thing” when it comes to both the guitar and the genre in which he excels, the pressure of this reality can sometimes be a bit (too) heavy. So, to navigate his position in the world of music on a day-to-day basis, Ingram works to keep ideas of accolades, attention, and lineage out of his mind, for the most part. In its place, the artist focuses on the roots of the music he loves. He thinks about writing, playing, getting better, and adhering to what got him to the place where he is now. Any other deviations might lead his proverbial forward-moving car into a ditch. As such, as Ingram prepares for a lengthy tour this spring (see dates below), he’s focused on improvement first and foremost.

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For Ben Bridwell, frontman and principal songwriter for the indie rock group Band of Horses, his career still makes no sense. That is to say, Bridwell remains rather astonished by it. That the now-43-year-old Irmo, South Carolina-born artist has earned a Grammy nomination or played to tens of thousands of people at festivals like Lollapalooza makes his head spin. He never started out wanting to front a band. In fact, when he landed in Seattle years ago, he was homeless, living on the street with a sleeping bag tied to his back. But even then, he knew one thing was essential for forward progress in any endeavor: hard work. It’s an instinct that remains with Bridwell today and it shines through on the latest Band of Horses album, Things Are Great, which is set to drop on Friday (March 4).

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When you tell Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy Award-winning artist Jennifer Hudson that you’re starting the interview for the American Songwriter Magazine Legends issue, of which she is a central figure, her response is, “Me?” Then she laughs quickly and follows up with a “thank you!” She does all this in a way that is true and honest. Hudson expresses the kind of “Thank you” that a friend might when you tell them their book of poetry is well-written or their apartment is well-put-together.

In terms of accomplishments, Hudson sits atop a mountain that’s all her own. Yet, there remains something about her that lives outside of that lofty peak. Perhaps this is the result of a hard life combined with a lot of hard-won hardware. Hudson, who experienced unspeakable lows in 2008 with the murder of three of her close family members, has constantly pushed forward in her life and career.

Indeed, that’s often the mark of a legend: perseverance, resilience, and some unimaginable sense of poise. Most recently, Hudson demonstrated all three when she took on the role of fellow music legend Aretha Franklin in the 2021 biopic, Respect (out now via MGM and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to own on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital). But perhaps more than anything else, Hudson credits a single mentality with allowing her to succeed in ways few—if any—artists have before her.

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Country singer Jon Pardi doesn’t have a rocket ship. The Nashville-based songwriter and performer knows this to be true (both literally and metaphorically). But that doesn’t stop him from sonically taking flight. For Pardi, his proverbial flying machine is much more akin to a warplane, he says, one of those double-winged metallic creatures that soar steadily in the air as many others whiz and whir past.

But for Pardi, a career is not a sprint. It’s a marathon, a lifetime of work. And the California native recently added new fuel to his journey with the release of his latest single, “Last Night Lonely,” which he unveiled on February 18. Now, Pardi is exclusively announcing an extensive summer tour with American Songwriter. Dubbed the Ain’t Always The Cowboy Tour, the 25-date trek is set to kick off in July and run through September with friends and collaborators Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters. (See tour dates below).

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Luther Campbell always liked when he got to hear the music first—before the radio stations. As a young DJ in Miami, Florida, in the 1980s, Campbell was part of a “record pool” which gave him early access to new singles and new artists. In his early twenties, he would spin records at parties, often at his mother’s house. He’d play reggae or whatever else got the people moving. That led Campbell—who also goes by Luke, Uncle Luke, Luke Skyywalker, and likely several other names throughout his career—to join a like-minded DJ group. He both produced beats and spun the records he had early access to at local parties. Little did anyone know that these humble, music-loving beginnings would eventually lead Campbell and his group, 2 Live Crew, to upending the world with their brash style of “nasty,” sex-infused, boundary-breaking songs.

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Captivating rock star Joan Jett thinks about her legacy, but not in the way many others might. Hers is a nuanced perspective in which she hopes her name can help carry on her music and the important songs and messages she’s been a part of. Yet, at the same time, Jett works to consciously sever herself from the potentially egotistical sensibility that somehow the musical sun could ever rise and fall at her behest.

In truth, Jett is, of course, a legend. She’s rebellion personified, which is and was no easy task to achieve. But to let in the various permutations of what that word—legend—means it can cloud or blind one to what’s important. Namely, maintaining a personal openness to the world and to others. Instead of living starry-eyed, Jett wants to live a philosophically-minded life, to be one of those people who leans into encouragement and not dismissal. She wants to tell others: Go for it!

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Alynda Segarra, frontwoman for the indie rock band Hurray for the Riff Raff, knows what it’s like to feel at-risk. She knows what it’s like to feel invisible. She knows what it’s like to hop trains, sleep under trees, duck into bushes and hedges and she knows what it’s like to be on the run. In many ways, these moments are the foundation for who she is, both as a person today and as an artist. But these days she is also creating new formative moments upon which she’ll stand, assured. She’s continuing to grow and evolve in big ways. She’s continuing to listen as well as to make new music. These are the ingredients of her newest record, Life On Earth, which is set to drop on Friday (February 18). These are the lenses through which she sees and experiences the world around her.

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When John Lurie was in his mid-teens, his sister gave his older brother a harmonica for his birthday. That, combined with the acquisition of a Little Walter record, had the two brothers obsessed with both the idea of the instrument and making music together. Lurie, who today stars in the HBO television show Painting With John, which debuts its second season on Friday (February 18), practiced on the harmonica obsessively. In high school, he and his brother started a band called Crud in which he played and sang. Not long after, he jammed with Mississippi Fred McDowell and Canned Heat with John Lee Hooker. Thus, a career in the arts was born.

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