Vanessa Lively is a bilingual songwriter and non-profit founder – starting in 2017 a music-based non-profit in Austin called Home Street Music. The program holds music circles with people who have experienced chronic homelessness. In addition to running the non-profit, Lively is a painter, graphic designer and mother of two young boys. But today we’re focusing on the music – with ‘Ready To Find You‘ a statement of connection which is the opening song on her new album ‘Mirroring the Wilderness.’ It’s a song that Lively explains has taken a while to get finished, and digs deep into her artistic side, saying: “I began this song in October of 2024 at the Crooked Crow Songwriting Retreat in West Texas. I had forgotten about the song, but uncovered a recording the week before our studio time in Rockport, TX at Coastal Bend Studio. I sat down with Ben Bedford in the days before we left for the studio, and we fine-tuned this song, then recorded a rough draft demo, unsure if we would use it at all. We ended up having an extra day to record at the studio, so we pulled out various songs and played them for John Macy. John chose this one so that evening and morning, we finished the lyrics and recorded it the next day. This is the opening track and has a lot of imagery that reappears in later tracks. I love to combine ethereal, poetic, somewhat abstract lyrics next to nature-based imagery. It is as if I am trying to write songs the way I paint, which often takes tangible nature-based subject matter, then pulls out abstractions, layers, and dreamlike imagery, enough to keep the observer wondering what they are seeing…I enjoy creating this same dreamlike experience through song.”
Featured musicians on the song, and the album, are Ben Bedford on vocals and guitar, Paul Curreri on bass, John Macy – pedal steel and the much in demand JT Bates on drums
