The daunting competition of breaking into Nashville's music scene hardly phased singer/songwriter Katie Herzig when she moved thither from Colorado two-and-a-half year ago. She had a little help from her friends�mainstays like Landon Pigg, Jeremy Lister and Matthew Perryman Jones�who would join forces with the sweet-sounding isaac Bashevis Singer on her new tunes. "I was really lucky because I fell easily into a community that was already established," Herzig says.
Herzig has a history of playing well with others, after eight years fronting Boulder, Colo.-based band Newcomers Home, a four-piece that released four albums. After breaking away to play solo, she released "Watch Them Fall" in 2004 and "Weightless" in 2006; from the latter, two songs ("Fools Gold" and "Sweeter Than This") were culled for placement in episodes of "Grey's Anatomy." Other tracks have shown up on "ER" and "Smallville" and her song "Heaven's My Home," recorded by the Duhks, received a 2007 Grammy Award nod for best country performance.
With her new set "Apple Tree," released independently May 13, Herzig's visibility only increases. The album, which features contributions from the Fray's Aaron Johnson and David Welsh, will be spotlighted on iTunes' singer/songwriter page for the next month and the track "I Will Follow" included on the indie singer/songwriters playlist. The July issue of Paste magazine's music compilation will feature her track "Hologram" while "Wish You Well" arrives on the third installment of Barnes & Noble's exclusive "Sundaymusic" compilation series. She's already confirmed for American Songwriter magazine's Ten From Tenn July/August tour and is working on her plans for the road this fall. She made a fan out of noncommercial KCRW Santa Monica, Calif., DJ Nic Harcourt, who has featured her on his "Morning Becomes Eclectic" show.
Herzig's gifts as a songwriter have stood out perhaps due to the fully produced nature of her songs, recorded with care and a bigness that transcends the potentially damning status of just being another girl in Nashville with a guitar. With a full backing band, string sections and her understated vocals front and center, "Apple Tree" is an adventurous and playful album perfect for the triple A set.
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