BONNER RHAE TALKS WILD

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

What inspired you to write this song?

I try to look at the bright side in life and that's really where the idea for 'Wild' came from. I'd had a brief relationship come to an end which was frustrating because I also, genuinely, had such a great time getting to know that person. I made a conscious decision to look at it from a positive perspective. It just simply was not meant to be, but it had been fun while it lasted, and I was going to just be grateful for that.

What feelings do you experience as the days to a new release draw closer?

I get pretty anxious as I approach a new release. I was especially anxious leading up to putting out 'Wild' because it would kick off my 2025 releases and something about that just felt like a lot of pressure to me. As an artist and a writer you pour so much of yourself into these songs and so much of whether or not that song does "well" out in the world is left up to chance. In some capacity you're just crossing your fingers and hoping the algorithm or the playlist gods bless your track and push it out for you. You can work your little booty off, but at the end of the day there's so much you just don't have control over.

How early did you know you wanted to shake your booty and live life as a country music singer?

I wanted to be a singer for as far back as I can remember. Someone once asked me when I first knew I was a good singer and I don't think it ever occured to me that perhaps I wasn't a good singer. Taylor Swift was extremely inspirational to me. I taught myself to play the guitar because of her. I wrote my first song because of her. She really inspired me to take it to the next level as a young girl. Life happened and I stopped singing and writing for a long time and it was actually at a Miranda Lambert concert when I was in my mid twenties that I decided I had to really go for it and see if I could make a music career happen for myself. I was standing there watching this powerful female artist that I grew up listening to put on this incredible show and I started crying. I'd always wanted that so so bad, and I knew I had to stop letting other people's expectations of me get in the way.

What about Taylor Swift’s music did you connect with?

Taylor isn't much older than me, so I think in part I just really connected with her first album because it was really applicable to my life. Up until then, I also had never considered that I could write my own songs. I don't think I'd ever considered where songs came from in the first place. They just appear out of the abyss, right? Taylor inspired me to play the guitar, of course, but I think what I'm most grateful for is the songwriting inspiration I got from her at such a young age.

Music was an early love, but life came in between. When you released your debut song, ‘No Rolling Stone,’ it did also reflect your journey toward your artist dreams. What was it like getting back on that horse and proving you could live life on your own terms?

'No Rolling Stone' was actually also my first co-write with my friend Matt Parrish who I've now written so many special songs with. So much about that song was me "getting back in the saddle." It was hard. Not only was I starting from scratch when I decided to get back out there, I had people in my life constantly questioning every little thing I did. My lyrics, how I dressed, what I said on stage, how I ran my social media, I mean I was being scrutinized down to the finest details while trying to find my way. It was confusing. It was stressful. I'm so glad I did the work and shed the things weighing me down to get to the level of confidence I'm at now. It's a beautiful place to be.

A little over a year ago, you moved to Nashville. What about the city stole your heart and made you decide to make it your full-time home?

Moving to Nashville was such a good decision for me on both a personal and professional level. I remember the very first time I came to Nashville for work, I got in my rental car and started driving into the city and I cried. I cry a lot if you haven't noticed the theme. It was just so beautiful and it felt so right. There's no other way to explain it. I get a lot more accomplished living in Nashville from a professional perspective. It's easier to network within the industry, it's been easier to find co-writers I love here, and it's so inspirational to be surrounded by music at all times. From a personal perspective, I've made such good friends here. I celebrated the release of 'Different Life' with some girlfriends last year and I'd never had so many girls show up for me like that. It was really sweet. So Nashville is easy to love. Even my parents love visiting and that's when you really know you picked a good spot.

Do you tend to write about things while you're still in your feelings?

I think that depends how heavy it is, it took me a few years after leaving my marriage to be able to write about it. I spent so long being so unhappy, I just couldn't think about it anymore. I just wanted to be happy. I wrote my first song about it in July last year, about a year and a half after my divorce was finalized. It's easy to write about now, but I really needed that time to become detached enough to think clearly. Sometimes ideas will come to me from things that happened a long time ago, and other times something will come to me in real time and I'll write about it right away. Then there's also the times where I write about something that's entirely fictional. Recently I've been writing fictional songs. I needed a palette cleanser. Writing true stories can get heavy after a while, especially when you're writing about your own trauma! (laughs)

How do you hope your music will connect with everyone who hear it?

Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, I always hope that people connect with my music. I want my music to stir something deep in hearts. I want to experience growth, of course. I want a spike in listeners and the ticket buyers and all those things, but I want those because it means more people are feeling something that they need to feel, when they hear my music.