Daily Discovery: Natalie Hart, “My Own Small Box”

Updated:

June 11, 2014 4:58 pm

American Songwriter participates in affiliate programs with various companies. Links originating on American Songwriter’s website that lead to purchases or reservations on affiliate sites generate revenue for American Songwriter . This means that American Songwriter may earn a commission if/when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links.

Videos by American Songwriter

ARTIST: Natalie Hart

SONG: My Own Small Box

HOMETOWN: Dallas, TX

CURRENT LOCATION: Nashville, TN

AMBITIONS: To write and perform music for a living that preserves people’s moments.

DREAM GIG: I would love to play somewhere timeless with a lot of history, since that matches my musical vibe. It would be really special to play the Ryman since Nashville is where I’ve developed the most musically, but I would also lose it if I could play the Apollo Theatre in NYC. Or you know, open for NSync on a comeback tour – 8 year old Natalie’s dreams never die.

STARTED PLAYING MUSIC: I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember – I used to get (lovingly) reprimanded for singing in restaurants. I’d always loved jazz/blues, but I really started to come into my own style when I was 14 and sang “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” for a church choir event.

FAVORITE LYRIC: That’s so hard! I’m lyrically driven – when albums come out I just devour the words, I LOVE it. One that comes to mind (not the best of all time, but one I’ve been reflecting on) is in “Born and Raised” by John Mayer: “Got a mom, got a dad; but they do not have each other”. To me, that is what songwriting captures – something like divorce that has become this thing with mundane connotations, but is so weighty. That lyric captures so many elements of something so complex in a really simple, moving way, and I think that is the task of the songwriter.

CRAZIEST PERSON I KNOW: All my friends are pretty crazy, which makes sense. My friend Liz put on war paint and went and hiked a waterfall a couple weeks ago. My friend Haley dressed up as a goose and went to a Sound of Music sing along. I surround myself with crazy people.

SONG I WISH I WROTE: A lot of the songs I write are redemptive, but dark. I would love to have written a song like “My Girl” – a song that stirs up that pure joy in people and lights up a room.

Are you a great artist with an undiscovered song? Enter the Durango Boots Sole Performer Contest! Prizes include $10,000, a Taylor 618e Grand Orchestra Guitar, and appearances as a Durango artist. Click below to enter today: