Wisconsin songwriter releases debut solo folk album for quiet mornings

For years, Hillary Reynolds of Appleton wrote songs for other musicians, which landed on popular TV shows like “Yellowstone” and a Grammy-nominated album from Nashville country band Little Big Town.

But then, Reynolds, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Wisconsin, wrote a batch of songs that “were too precious to hear somebody else” sing, she told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

“I went through a phase of thinking that in order to find career success, it was a means to support other people’s visions and put theirs before my own,” Reynolds said. “Writing these songs specifically, they were such good medicine for me.”

Now, she’s out with her first solo album, “Changing Seasons,” which features eight Americana folk tracks meant to be musical companions for quiet mornings like what she experienced as a new mother.

Reynolds talked with “Wisconsin Today” about creating this intensely personal album, her musical upbringing in Appleton and how motherhood has shaped her songwriting.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Kate Archer Kent: You described this period in your life — being in the first trimester of pregnancy and releasing a new album — as “the black hole.” What has this time been like for you?

Hillary Reynolds: This time, I’m already a mother of a toddler and balancing the release of this album with all of the hormonal shifts and growths that are happening within, and still just needing to show up and honor my commitments and give as much love and support to the release of this album that took so long to make.

It’s just comical, the timing. It was such a buildup for me internally, from when we started tracking this album to the actual release of it in August, and having that fall right when I was like eight, nine weeks pregnant. It was just the thick of the nausea and fatigue of the first trimester of my second child. So it’s been a little wild.

KAK: The album, as you said, is years in the making, pre-pandemic. Along the way, you’ve changed — a songwriter changes. How does that evolution play out in this album?

HR: When I started writing it, I had landed in LA. I was new to the scene. I knew I wanted to really dive deep into writing and be more of a songwriter session person, as opposed to pursuing my own artistic needs.

And the journey and the arc from then to now is kind of remarkable, because in that time I did write this album, did do a bunch of sessions, got some placements in TV shows.

I ended up writing a song that Little Big Town cut and that album being nominated for a Grammy in 2020, and then getting pregnant and having my firstborn. It’s such a time capsule for me of all of that.

KAK: The second track on the album, “Can’t Turn Off My Mind,” feels like it has layers of meaning. There’s insomnia. There could be the buzzing to-do list in a mom’s mind. Have you found that some of these songs have transformed through time?

HR: I think that song in particular has had such an interesting meaning change over the years. When I first wrote it, it was more or less about my anxiety and the act of rumination in the most inconvenient times.

And then becoming a mother, it did sort of open up and go a little deeper. Even last night, my little buddy had a sore throat and he … woke up in the middle of the night, and for the rest of the night, I didn’t sleep. I just didn’t get good sleep at all because I was just wanting to make sure he was OK. And I think that’s just part of being a mom.

KAK: You say these songs are good for morning time and the routine and greeting the day. Why did you channel the morning in these songs?

HR: I think I channeled the morning because in the newborn phase, there was just so much space and not-space. To be completely honest with you, I thought that my relationship with my son was kind of like I was staring at a blob for the first four months. I was like, “I’m not getting anything from you. I’m trying to understand you. I’m trying to read you.” It was a lot of contact, but no communication.

And so when this album really started to come to fruition, I was thinking about how I was seeking classical music in the morning, I was seeking little Jane Austen moments and I was reading through the Beatrix Potter treasury. I thought that this album would be a really great companion to those sort of moments.

When we came together to build the world, I just thought it was a great first track to introduce people to all of the intimate places this album can be.

Hillary Reynolds

KAK: Let’s talk about the title track, “Changing Seasons.” How does it set the scene and the mood for your solo debut here?

HR: This track in particular really dives deep into the influences of this whole record. And for me, “Sunrise,” a track by Norah Jones on the “Feels Like Home” album — I just felt a kindred spirit with writing this song and channeling that warmth. Honestly, I think most of what she does is timeless. When I wrote this song with my guitar player, it was just one of those things where I felt like I could sing it for the rest of my life, and it would just continue to be one of those chestnuts in the repertoire. When we came together to build the world, I just thought it was a great first track to introduce people to all of the intimate places this album can be.

KAK: It sounds like growing up in Appleton was really influential for your musical journey. Do you think there’s some Wisconsin DNA in your songwriting?

HR: Growing up, the access I had to commercial music was really through my family. For the longest time, my family has always had a family band. They’ve played Tom Petty covers and Steely Dan and Stevie Wonder and the Beatles, of course, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, I could go on and on and on.

I grew up with all of those songs coexisting in sets, and it was typically at the Waupaca harbor bar or a barn dance, or somewhere in Door County in the summer, or somebody’s living room for rehearsal. And I really, truly thought that they (my family) wrote all of those songs.

KAK: Oh, you probably had your heart broken when you learned that wasn’t true.

HR: I totally did. I think I was in middle school when I started cracking the code and I was like, “Wait a second. This is a John Hiatt song?” There were so many moments like that. And, to their credit, that was what I grew up listening to, because that was what was in front of me. And I treasure that time.

I know it’s really lucky to be able to grow up in that sort of environment, paired with having access to the conservatory here in Appleton called Lawrence Arts Academy (now Lawrence Community) Girl Choir — I was part of a girl choir for, like, a decade. I also took viola lessons and was part of the youth symphony that was here. I was in two choirs in high school and in musicals, and played golf. I was really fortunate to be able to tap into so many things.

Watch Hillary Reynolds’ performance at Mile of Music in 2024 via PBS Wisconsin.