Tracielynn hails from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Her dad was in a band, so she was surrounded by music and music performance from an early age. Her dad could play multiple instruments, including sax and banjo. When friends came over, they would ask, "Is that your dad? That's insane."
Tracielynn began singing at a very early age, and it became her passion as well. She shared, "I love all kinds of music, but where my heart resonates, it's with country. I love the storytelling aspect of it."
She started going to Nashville at age 11, where her parents let her sing in a recording studio. She showed a lot of promise even at such a young age. She met record producer Luke Wooten, who asked her, "What are you going to do with this?"
Tracielynn replied, "This is what I was made to do. I'm not going to go to college. I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to graduate from high school and move to Nashville."
He stated, "If you have the opportunity to go to college, then you should go. Because within the industry, there are absolutely no guarantees."
Tracielynn went to college, where she studied business management and hospitality management. She met her husband during that time and graduated from college. Briefly, she worked for the Hilton corporation.
It was fun for a while, but she never forgot her desire to pursue a music career. In 2019, she informed her husband-to-be that she was moving to Nashville as soon as they got married. They moved to Nashville right before COVID hit. Since she couldn't perform live, she spent most of her free time writing songs and pumping out music.
Inspired by the country music from the early 2000s, Tracielynn released "Good Kind of Crazy" in 2020, which became a fan favorite. In 2021, she embraced her country upbringing, with the forthright "All Goes South." By 2022, she confirmed there "Ain't Enough Whiskey" in this bar to get me back in your arms. In 2023, she called out the touristy "Broadway Cowboy" who thinks he can buy being country with Daddy's money.
Since that time, Tracielynn's popularity has blossomed as she has opened for Jon Pardi, Morgan Wallen, Jordan Davis, Sam Hunt, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, and Lainey Wilson, to name a few.
Now, fully established as a singer/songwriter, Tracielynn has penned her latest EP, Doing Fine. Composed alongside Brian Alexander and other renowned songwriters, the 90s-inspired EP shows a newfound confidence that Tracielynn has acquired since moving to Nashville.
The title track, "Doing Fine," is a reassuring anthem that could easily have been a Faith Hill or Deana Carter song. She explained, "It's an honest song about how your family worries about you and the tough entertainment business. But I wanted to write where you could be doing anything, and people would be able to relate to it. I wrote the song for my dad."
"Pretty Machine" has a soulful element and was explicitly written for Tracielynn's mother. She shared, "I had a videographer that I hired when I sang that song for my mother. I knew my mom was going to cry. But it was wild because it was like the domino effect among moms in the crowd. Multiple moms were crying. And I wasn't expecting that, but at that moment, I was like, 'Okay, I did my job.'"
An interesting thing about Tracielynn's Doing Fine EP is that it does not have any love songs. She explained, "It's funny because I do have a lot of cheating songs where you would think that I have a lot of emotional baggage. But I am like totally, happily married. People think you are going through something, but that's not always the case. The overall style and energy from the songs "Good and Gone" (An 'I'm over it' ballad), "Good Years" (I won't let my good years go to waste) and "To Hell" (I ain’t saying I’m an angel, but you sure did me wrong) are rooted from the music I grew up on."
Songs like Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" and anything by Miranda Lambert were the songs she had blasting in her car. They shaped her as an artist. Tracielynn's music is the perfect country rock mix of Miranda Lambert's sass and Carrie Underwood's big vocals. Someone even referred to her as a "Walmart Carrie." She jested, "They thought they were offending me, but I took it as a compliment."
Tracielynn's soulful vocals soar on the heartfelt "Parade," a song that is a bit of an outlier compared to the other tracks. In the song, she embraces the grief, allowing herself to be imperfect. She stated, "You've got to let it rain on your parade because, especially with social media, you are always trying to be this image."
The day she teamed up with Brian Alexander and Mary Kutter to write a song, she wasn't in good headspace. They agreed, "We need to write a song that just reminds people that they're not alone. And it's okay not to be okay."
Still, she was unsure whether to include it on the EP, but when she played it live, many told her, "I love this song," even though it has a different vibe. It's a tune that translates phenomenally when played acoustically as well.
As a songwriter, Tracielynn purposely leaves the lyrics a bit vague so they can be open to interpretation. If the listener can see themselves in the scenario, it makes the song more relatable.
What draws me to artists like Tracielynn is that she knows what she likes and what she’s good at, and it is conveyed in her music. The soulful country rocker is not going for a gimmick or trying to fit in. She embraces the past while putting modern touches on timeless themes. And she can sing. I mean really SING. With more than 10 million streams to date, others are catching on, too. If you get a chance to see her perform, you won’t forget it. She rocks.
Be sure to stream Doing Fine and check out all the rest of her music, too.
You can follow Tracielynn on her website, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X.
Doing Fine Track Listing:
1. “Doing Fine” (Tracielynn, Michael Farren)
2. “Pretty Machine” (Tracielynn, Brian Alexander, Madison Hughes)
3. “To Hell” (Tracielynn, Brian Alexander, Alex Mather)
4. “Good and Gone” (Tracielynn, Hunter Faulling)
5. “Parade” (Tracielynn, Brian Alexander, Mary Kutter)
6. “Good Years” (Tracielynn, Brian Alexander)
