“I think reckless can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. What I might consider reckless, you might not consider reckless,” Morgan Wade tells American Songwriter. “But I look at it as more so just doing what I want, and crossing those lines and those boundaries and pushing the envelope.”
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Wade, a rootsy, raspy singer/songwriter hailing from Virginia, embraces a reckless approach to her music. Earlier this year, she paid homage to that creative process by dropping a 10-track album aptly titled Reckless. The title track describes a period of life Wade was in at the moment, and the other songs on the album continue to explore her journey as an artist.
Fortunately, Wade not only shared her inner feelings on her latest record but will also be sharing all of her latest songs live at the Pilgrimage Music Festival on Sunday, September 26. Expressing a fondness for Franklin, Tennessee, Wade energetically stated that she and the band are “ready to rock” this weekend.
The singer/songwriter also reveals that she is most looking forward to playing her candid anthem, “Last Cigarette,” on the fest’s Gold Record Road Stage. “‘Last Cigarette’ is one of my favorites to do. That one’s vocally challenging, and I really, really have to focus on that one a lot more than the other ones. It’s just a fun song,” Wade said.
Additionally, it is almost certain that Wade will perform her debut country radio single, “Wilder Days,” the first song written for her recent record, which echoes with powerful harmonies on top of heartbreaking emotion.
“We were working really hard on ‘Wilder Days’ to figure out exactly how we wanted it to be, and Sadler [Vaden, producer] had been up pretty late. We worked on ‘Wilder Days’ all day, and when we finally finished it… I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to bed.’ And [Sadler said], ‘No, no, we’re going to put this on the CD and get in the car and go get ice cream. We’re gonna listen to this.’ That moment sticks out to me the most because I just remember how excited he was and how invested he is in this project,” Wade explains.
Working with Vaden (Jason Isbell’s longtime guitarist and acclaimed solo artist) gave Wade the boost necessary to make Reckless a truly timeless record. Wade explains that Vaden never boxed her in, but rather helped ignite her creativity.
Overall, through the process of creating and later performing her music, Wade values authenticity.
“My big thing is I just want [listneres] to take away that I’m trying to be as authentic as possible, and really putting everything out there,” she concludes. “I’m not just trying to make songs that I think are going to be hits or anything like that. I’m really working really hard to dig deep and put real relatable stuff out there and hopefully, that’s something that everybody can kind of take away from Reckless—it’s raw.”
Listen to Reckless below, and find out more about Pilgrimage Music Festival here.
