On Drive and Cry, country singer Emily Nenni encourages listeners to let it all out | Music News | Spokane | The Pacific Northwest Inlander

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Emily Nenni is happy and sad at the same time.

CCountry singer Emily Nenni is a pro at juxtaposition. The cover of their latest album Driving and cryingFor example, it is in bubblegum pink, with a photo of a cool, confident Nenni dressed in black from her hat to her boots.

Album opener “Get to Know Ya” sets the mood as Nenni sings about finishing up work, putting on her biggest hoop earrings and the jeans she “can only really stand in,” before heading to the local bar for a night of music and dancing in the hopes of finding a guy in jeans who can keep up with her.

As the album progresses, however, you experience a little audio whiplash. “We Sure Could Two Step,” for example, is classic honky-tonk fun with an instrumental break that’s perfect for dancing in the middle of the song. Lyrically, however, Nenni takes listeners on a journey through the experience of lost love.

“It felt right at first / Who knows what / Soon the odds were stacked against us and we couldn’t win / I never knew this feeling, never knew if it was real, and now I know I’ll never feel it again.”

Nenni attributes her musical contrasts to her love of Motown and the girl groups of that time.

“If you listen to a lot of Supremes or other girl groups, the music is so happy and you can really dance to it and the melody is a little sad, but then you look at the lyrics and you’re like, ‘Whoa, that song is a total flop but it sounds really happy,'” Nenni says. “That’s what I love about the music. You probably can’t hear Motown on this record, but it’s influenced by it – at least lyrically.”

Nenni grew up in Orinda, California, about 20 minutes from Berkeley, and listened to a little bit of everything thanks to her father, who worked in radio, and her mother, whose musical tastes ranged from Patsy Cline to Missy Elliott.

Nenni was an introverted person and saw herself as a songwriter rather than a performer. The more she wrote, the more she was drawn to country music.

“I wanted to write stuff that was more lyrically and emotionally direct, and I realized that country music was going in the right direction,” she says. “So when I moved to Nashville at 21 and started seeing live music and seeing how much fun everyone was having and how much joy it brought everyone, I realized, ‘OK, I definitely want to play country music.'”

“…,Whoa, the song is a real letdown, but it sounds really happy,” says Nenni

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During her 10 years in Nashville, Nenni earned a living working in a variety of jobs, including a guitar shop, a restaurant, bartending, and most recently selling cowboy boots. In between these jobs, Nenni also spent time on a ranch in southern Colorado working and writing what would become the aptly named On the ranchwhich was released in 2022.

“I’ve only been doing music full-time for about a year,” says Nenni. “I’ve always had to make time for music. And when you make time, it means you really care about the music. You make it happen.”

Nenni wrote all Driving and cryingreleased by herself in May, except for the closing cover of Terry Allen’s “Amarillo Highway”. Nenni says that all of her songwriting is autobiographical, but Driving and crying in particular was even more personal and required a few months of getting into her head and thinking about everything that had been going through her mind since writing On the ranch.

“That’s definitely how I process things when I put pen to paper,” says Nenni. “Honestly, the sad songs are the ones I write first. The song ‘Drive and Cry’ I wrote in about two minutes. It just came out like that.”

Nenni, who also made her Grand Ole Opry debut in May, is a proud driver and announcer and has heard from fans who have driven and cried to Driving and cryingNenni says she makes sure the person is OK first before acknowledging what a huge relief it is, and calls it an honor to be the soundtrack to someone’s crying fit on the road.

“I think I’m gonna drive and cry / I’m behind on a tire change and bloodshot eyes / Don’t worry about me, I’m gonna cry / That’s my high / I think I’m gonna drive and cry,” she sings on the title track.

“I often drive and cry,” says Nenni. “They can be tears of joy, tears of sadness. It’s always a good mix.” ♦

Emily Nenni, Lucas Brookbank Brown • Mon, June 24 at 9pm • $15 • 21+ • The District Bar • 916 W. First Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com