Lily Meola Lucky To Be
“I got lucky enough to find you and I,” sings Maui native Lily Meola. Her debut album, Lucky to Be, released on July 17 via Nettwerk Music Group, revolves around love, gratitude, and the serendipity of human connection. The album’s twelve songs remind us that sometimes destiny hangs by a thread. “While writing the songs that became Lucky to Be, I came across this statistic that said the chances of you being born are one in 400 trillion. That stopped me in my tracks,” Meola says. “It made me realize the chances of simply being alive are so slim.”
Today, Lily Meola lives in Nashville—the mecca of country music—which may seem like the natural home for her artistry. Yet that would overlook Hawaii’s own rich country-and-western tradition. The islands are home to the paniolo—Hawaiian cowboys whose roots trace back to the Mexican vaqueros invited to the islands in the 1830s to teach cattle ranching. “You can’t get any further west than Hawaii,” Meola says. “Country music is extremely popular in Hawaii and always has been. We have such a huge ranching scene here, and everyone knows the paniolo, the Hawaiian cowboys.”
Meola has also earned the admiration of one of country music’s greatest living legends, Willie Nelson, who joins her on “Tumbleweeds and Chewing Gum,” while his son Lukas Nelson appears on “Mar Vista.” Jamey Johnson appears on “Never Want This To Change.” The result is an album where Meola’s luminous voice glides effortlessly above twang-soaked guitars, blending contemporary country with folk, Americana, and subtle Western textures.
More details are available here on her website: https://www.lilymeolamusic.com/
The album was produced by Nick Lobel, Steven Solomon, Ben West, Hunter Betts, Beau Bedford, Anders Mouridsen, and Aaron Steel. It was mixed by Sean Moffitt and mastered by Dale Becker and Adam Grover.
Musicians on the album are Lily Meola on vocals; Simon Martensson on acoustic guitar, dobro, piano and bass; Kip Allen on drums and percussion; Nick Lobel on Keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, percussion, Mellotron and background vocals; Justin Schipper on pedal steel; Casey Kalmensonn on acoustic guitar; Leroy Powell on pedal steel and Theremin; Melissa Fuller on background vocals; Anders Mouridsen on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, bass and Mellotron; Willie Nelson on acoustic guitar; Lukas Nelson on vocals; Jamey Johnson on vocals; and Riley Biederer on background vocals.