Sammi Accola photo by Penny Kapadoukakis
Sammi Accola has a new album coming out this week, A Candle on a Busy Street. Sammi’s songwriting is interwoven with her life experiences with women in recovery and in a broad global context. We had a chat with Sammy about the music, some of her experiences in the studio, in Paris, in Rwanda and other experiences working with nonprofit Thistle Farms, and more.
Americana Highways: You have a new album out in March called A Candle on a Busy Street. Did you go into this planning to do an album and writing with that in mind, or did the whole thing come together more organically?
Sammi Accola: The record started with “Renaissance” and “Holy Woman” in 2022, and then I was really in this season wrestling some heavy experiences–newly working with women in recovery and grieving the loss of my nephew. The songs live in this questioning, but also hopeful, space. The more I wrote, the more I saw repeated themes, and it all really organically fell into place. I’m so thankful to be releasing this new music!
AH: Can you elaborate a bit more on the theme or themes that run through the songs?
SA: A Candle On A Busy Street is a collection of songs living in the honest tension and middle grounds of life: fear and joy, faith and doubt, justice and injustice, waiting and the now, questions and answers. And the hope of it all.
This album calls forth for unity (“Renaissance”), faith and justice in daily life (“Turning The Tables”), celebration of woman in the church (“Holy Woman”), grief (“Waiting Room”), complex relationships with addiction (“Beginning Of An Apology” and “Survivor’s Guilt”), and finding worth in the midst of overwhelming identifiers (“Mona Lisa”).
AH: Which songs are standout tracks to you and why?
SA: How do I choose a favorite??? It’s like asking a mother her favorite kid. But, “Mona Lisa” and “Turning the Tables” turned out really, really special.
I’ll take you to my 21st birthday. We’re in the Louvre in Paris and my tour guide says, “Did you know that the reason the Mona Lisa became famous is because she was stolen?” The painting was gone for 24 hours and nobody noticed—when they finally did, every news outlet frantically caught on. When the mysterious portrait was found, that’s when the red velvet ropes went up, crowds gathered, and the quaintly sized canvas found a permanent residency. This story felt all too familiar.
In Nashville, I work at Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that serves women survivors of human trafficking, abuse, and addiction. It’s a daily reminder that we all carry parts of our stories we wish weren’t true, and choices that were made outside of our control. “Mona Lisa” is an ode to the women I admire, the stories I hold within my own experience, and a friend to our feelings of shame and inadequacy. The song offers a better word—reminding us that we are “more than a work of art”; we are “the mind, the soul, and the heart.”
When we recorded “Turning the Tables” in the studio and I got the mix back, all I had was the instrumental version for the first couple of weeks, and I remember driving a road trip from Florida to Nashville just looping the track. It’s full of power and tenderness. All of it that the players, my producer, and I came up with in the studio that day. The guitar wails, drum builds, and the bridge breakdown are such a special sound.
To top it all off, I had my dear friend, Tinayeshe, join me on the track, and his intensely soulful and compelling voice accompanies my tone in such a glorious harmony. I adore him as an artist, and it felt so right to collaborate.
AH: Talk to me a bit about the recording process. Who did you work with in the studio, and what were the sessions like? How was the vibe, and how did the songs come together?
SA: It was really important for me to work with women as the authority figures for this project–a musical matriarch of sorts. I wanted to sit in the studio knowing that if I burst out in tears, whoever I was working with would be willing to sit with me and be a source of comfort. Out of true favor, both Latifah Alattas (Moda Spira/Page CXVI) and Lori Chaffer (Waterdeep), who co-produced this record, are beautiful mothers and women who carry both fire and gentleness in the same breath.
I also had incredible studio players—Terence F. Clark, Will Honaker, Juan Solorzano, and Lucas Morton—join on “Mona Lisa,” “Turning the Tables,” and “Beginning of an Apology,” which Latifah produced. It was the most surreal experience watching these guys walk into the room having never heard the songs before, then chart them after listening to a single demo. So naturally, they transformed the musical landscape into something tender, and at times daunting.
This was my first time working with professional studio musicians and I loved the process so much. It always amazes me to hear a full track after you’ve only known it on the piano or guitar in your living room. For “Holy Woman,” “Renaissance,” “Survivor’s Guilt,” and “Waiting Room,” Lori and I worked solo in her home studio–a totally rad, guitar-filled shack in her backyard. I really got to experience the best of both worlds and wouldn’t trade partnering with Lori and Latifah for the world.
AH: How has the creative process in general and your songwriting specifically – both music and lyrics – changed and morphed through the years as you’ve grown as an artist?
SA: This is the second project I’ve released—the first was an EP titled Horizon Eyes in 2022. I really leaned into my Florida/Sunshine State roots on that record, but for this new project, I’ve been in a much more reflective state. Post-pandemic, through my work in the recovery space, and while navigating personal questions and truly wrestling with God, this record organically leaned heavier, because my life felt heavy.
I’m fascinated by the process and hopeful for the continued evolution of my artistry. It feels both natural and necessary for me to keep growing, expanding, and being changed by the world so clearly around us. I look forward to the years to come!
AH: Do you find inspiration in different or unique places? What kinds of things typically inspire you to write songs these days?
SA: I love this question. This fall, I went to Rwanda with Thistle Farms to help tell the story of one of our global partners, and I was transformed by their culture of reconciliation in the wake of mass genocide just 30 years ago. History keeps me inspired and rooted in true stories.
I remember studying songwriting at Belmont University in college and hearing one of our professors tell stories about songwriters who would just “make up” stories for their songs. Something about that always felt off to me. There are so many meaningful stories already in the world, and we each have so much to share about what we see through our own eyes. I’m inspired simply by paying attention. There is wisdom in every single person, and I hope to stay patient enough to listen.
AH: You’ve collaborated over the years – on your recordings in the studio, performing live, co-writing, etc. What does working with other artists mean to you, and are there standout collaborations that are special to you? What made them special?
SA: Collaborating is my absolute favorite! I love co-writing, working through tracks hand-in-hand with a producer to find the most authentic sound, bringing friends into the studio who can absolutely rip on a fiddle–it makes my heart so happy to be together.
For the recording of “Holy Woman,” I brought in some of my closest friends and most trustworthy singers–Summerlyn Powers, Andriana Seay, and Michelle Raybourn–to form a “mini-choir,” elevating the power of these words that “you can call me anything, but I’m a holy woman!” Stacking harmonies with wickedly talented singers was a heavenly experience. There is something about others backing me in support that brings comfort–especially being a full independent artist, ha!
AH: Do you plan to do any touring around the album or do you have an album release show planned?
SA: I am celebrating my new project with an Album Release Show at The Center for Contemplative Justice in Nashville on Thursday, March 26th with my all-female band! I’m incredibly excited to headline the night and to have Meredith Aguirre open.
AH: What can fans expect from your live show these days?
SA: Fans can expect rich and introspective storytelling, hilarious rambles, pure acoustic music (no background tracks), and the most badass women joining me on stage! Come out if you can and visit my website, https://sammiaccola.com/ for more tour dates!
Thanks very much for chatting with us Sammi Accola. You can find more information here on her website: https://ffm.to/a-candle-on-a-busy-street