Jill Andrews (photo by Fairlight Hubbard)
Watch Nashville singer-songwriter and authentic child of the ’80s Jill Andrews treat us to a three-song session at Jaan’s House in Nashville during AmericanaFest 2023. All three of the songs are from Andrews’ current record, Modern Age (ND review), which reflects on childhood across different eras, the importance of not being tethered and monitored by our devices at all times, and themes of connection versus isolation.
The first song in Andrews’ ND session is the last song on Modern Age, called “Boundless Love,” a song about her love for nature. The song almost didn’t make the record since it was written years earlier and not specifically as part of this collection of songs. She eventually decided it was a fitting song to end the album with, since her love of nature is so intertwined with her East Tennessee childhood.
Second up is “80’s Baby,” whose lyrics include Andrews’ plea, “I’d rather you call instead of texting me / I wanna hear your voice / I’m an ’80s baby.” She makes the case to seek out and maximize the downtime that ’80s kids had but that modern living so rarely allows.
The spark that ignited a full album’s worth of childhood memories was struck under hard circumstances, when Andrews came back home to sing at a memorial service for a friend. She had enough time and space to herself during the hometown visit to linger on the sights, sounds, and smells, collecting the inspiration she needed to say her piece.
Andrews rounds out her ND session with “Patience.”
Find previous No Depression Sessions at AmericanaFest 2023 here, and look for more in the coming weeks.
