Americana singer/songwriter Karlie Bartholomew may be a newcomer to releasing music, but she is already a star in our eyes. She recently released her second single, "Back Bay," which she penned during a bout of homesickness after graduating from Berklee College of Music. "Some of my fondest memories are Sundays walking along the Charles River and finding peace away from the busy city streets," she explains while reminiscing of Boston. We hate to hear that Karlie was feeling down, but Boston's loss is Nashville's gain!
We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Karlie a couple weeks ago about her music, idols and future plans.
Hi, Karlie! Thanks for joining us today. Your new single “Back Bay” received over 3,000 streams in the first week of its release. Can you explain the importance of pre-saving songs to our readers? Pre-saving is important because the song will automatically be added to your Spotify or Apple Music library the day it’s released. This helps the chances of it being added to editorial playlists which are curated by Spotify or Apple Music. It’s easy to do and can be very helpful for independent artists!
Describe your songwriting process for us. Do you put together the music or lyrics first? Do you prefer to co-write or write alone? I wouldn’t say I have just one process for writing as each song has its own process. Most often I write the lyrics in my head first with a melody idea in mind and then write the guitar part according to that. Other times I come up with the chords first and write from there. I prefer to write alone, especially if it’s a personal song, but I do enjoy co-writing with friends and coming up with ideas together. I like to do a mix of both as they are beneficial when developing my writing.
Do you have a musical idol? If you could either record a duet or write a song with them, which would you prefer? Many different artists have inspired me and my music such as Ella Fitzgerald, Jim Croce, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, Kina Grannis, and Sara Bareilles to name a few. If I could write a song and record a duet with anyone, it would have to be Ingrid Michaelson. Her writing style and musicality laid the foundation for my music today.
We feel confident that we will see you on stage with Ingrid one day. What is something else that you hope to cross off your bucket list one day? I really want to travel to Europe and visit London and Ireland. I would love to play some shows there as well one day!
