Entertainment

JULIE WILLIAMS, BILLBOARD’S COUNTRY ROOKIE OF THE MONTH, RELEASES NEW EP, TENNESSEE MOON

Published

1 month ago

October 18, 2024

Haleigh

| Photo Credit: Chase Denton

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month Julie Williams, known for her soulful lyrics and authentic storytelling, is continuing to draw in listeners with her deep connection to nature and emotion. The queer singer/songwriter’s latest EP, Tennessee Moon, is available today, perfectly timed with today’s Hunter’s Moon. It follows recent releases “reckless road,” released on the Full Corn Moon and “just friends?”, which dropped on the rare Sturgeon Blue Moon. The releases all align with the full moon phases, as outlined by the Farmers’ Almanac.

Billboard says her “keen artistic mission further evolves” on the EP noting the “intertwining elements of folk, ‘90s country, and pop with her soothing vocal.” Entertainment Focus calls the 2023 CMT Next Women of Country artist a “vital voice.” For Tennessee Moon Williams was inspired by some of her favorite singer/songwriters like Boy Genius, Kacey Musgraves, Allison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Taylor Swift to create a story-driven sonic journey that was both dreamy and moody. Listen to Tennessee Moon HERE.

“Tennessee Moon was inspired by a picture that I took of one of my exes as they kayaked at Percy Priest Lake under a stunning Tennessee sunset,” shares Williams. “I watched this person – and our relationship – float farther and farther away from me, just as the sky was fading from orange and red to blue and gray. With that picture, and with this EP, I wanted to capture that wistful feeling – of trying to hold onto a beautiful, golden moment that you know in your heart is not going to last. This EP is an ode to my mid-20s – all the golden days, the dark nights, the flowers, and the dirt.”

Her Tennessee Moon Tour in support of the indie folk project kicked off Oct. 5 and will take her across the Midwest and East Coast with stops in New York, Columbus, Chicago, Philadelphia, and more. The tour resumes Nov. 7 at Nashville’s Blue Room. Tickets for the tour are available now at thisisjuliewilliams.com.

In addition to the new EP and tour, Williams and her song “Southern Curls” will be featured in the upcoming Hulu docuseries “It’s All Country.” Hosted by Luke Bryan, Williams joins a cast of stars including Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Wynonna Judd, Sheryl Crow, Lady A and Luke Combs for the series. With never-before-seen performances Bryan and guests will uncover the secrets, hidden inspirations and personal moments that shaped country music. Release date will be announced soon.

No stranger to the road, Williams has built her career there playing over 120 shows in 26 states in the past two years and captivated audiences at festivals such as Newport Folk Festival, CMA Fest, Tortuga Music Fest, High Water Festival, Cayamo, and AmericanaFest. She has also shared the stage with acts across genres, including Jason Isbell, Allison Russell, Mt. Joy, Devon Gilfillian, Brittney Spencer and Will Hoge.

Williams carries her mixed-race heritage and queerness as proudly as she carries her music. Raised in Florida, the singer/songwriter has been turning heads in Nashville’s country and Americana music scenes with her compelling mix of storytelling, soft-yet-powerful vocals, and indie folk production. That creative path is on full display with previously released “just friends?”. The song, a blend of both classic country storytelling and queer reflection, was the first taste of new music from the EP. The video for the track, which just made its world premiere in Times Square via CMT, is a nostalgic, queer story that captures both the sadness and innocence of what romantic feelings for an old friend might have looked like. Watch the video for “just friends?” HERE.

Music has always been a part of Williams’ life – honing her singing talent in church and beach bars and belting national anthems before packed stadiums. She grew up listening to everyone and everything from The Chicks and James Taylor to Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson. Even though she was drawn to the storytelling of country music, she never quite found the sound that spoke to everything she was: Black, white, Southern, a woman, hopeful, truthful. So naturally, it was up to Williams to make this sound. “My music is mixed like me,” is how she describes it, “I want to tell the stories that need to be told.”

The Florida native started sharing those stories, and people listened. A student at Duke University, she was signed to Small Town Records whose alumni include Mike Posner and Delta Rae and sang as a vocalist for the Duke Jazz Ensemble. After graduating with a public policy degree in 2019, she moved to Nashville and found her musical home in the Black country and Americana scene. She was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021 and she was featured in a “PBS NewsHour” special on Black women in country music. In 2022, Julie joined the Black Opry, a collective of Black artists in country, blues, folk, and Americana music. Julie was named a CMT Equal Access artist in 2023, joining the mtheory backed program to support marginalized voices in country music.

“People want to hear black voices, black stories,” Williams says. “I was nervous about how my songs would be received by Nashville – but people want honesty. They want honest songs about real life, and for the artists they follow to take a stand.”

Tennessee Moon follows her self-titled EP, Julie Williams, with American Songwriter praising her “success through the power of her own voice” and the Tennessean noting she “discovers joy, maturation” on the project.

An activist at heart, Williams launched Green Room Conversations in March 2023, a series of performances and speaking on college campuses to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music industry and her own experience with sexual violence. Williams hopes to empower the next generation of artists and industry changemakers and has already visited MTSU, University of Texas-Austin, and Duke with more campus visits planned for later this year.

“I’m writing my songs for the girl who cries in the shower as she tries to detangle her hair and is afraid to look in the mirror because she hates what she sees; for the 17-year-old who is just now learning to love herself; for the 20-or 30-something who is just trying to figure it out,” shares Williams. “That’s who my songs are for.”

Tennessee Moon EP Tracklist
(writers in parenthesis)