Writing bios in the third person is weird, don’t you think? I’m not doing that.

Growing up, my older brother, Shawn, was always the over-achiever. So imagine my sense of pride when, in the 6th grade, I finally got my own little trophy—honorable mention for a poem I submitted to the Western Pennsylvania “Reflections” contest. I can’t remember what that poem was about or even what it was called, but I do remember that it was the first time I felt recognized as a unique creative voice. About a year later, my dad bought Shawn a used guitar for his birthday. When he was out of the house, I often snuck into his bedroom, stole that guitar, and taught myself how to play. Suddenly, my poems became songs, and I was hooked. Eventually, Shawn gave me the guitar.

I wrote lots of music throughout my teenage years, mostly about Jesus and unrequited crushes. After high school, I attended Belmont University in Nashville, TN, studied songwriting, and found some willing band mates. While at school, we released my first independent recording project: a self-titled EP of 6 songs, recorded in one afternoon at Music Row’s RCA Studio B. A couple years later, we funded our first full album through Kickstarter. Not Nearly Home was released in April of 2014.

But soon after, the excitement from Not Nearly Home waned. I graduated and started working as a waitress, only playing occasional live shows to mostly empty rooms. With no money and roughly 31,000 boxes of CDs stacked in my bedroom closet, I found myself where many artists do—discouraged. So in August of that year, when I was offered a job as a worship leader for a church back in Pittsburgh, I took it.

Well hello there, quarter life crisis. You’re right on time.

The Christian faith has always been a fundamental part of my life. Over the years, I have spent countless hours digging deep into theology. I had an answer for every question, and friends often sought me out for spiritual advice. But in my last year of working in ministry, (when I was honest with myself) I admitted that I was unsettled by some of the things I had spent years believing. Consequently, I lost all trust in my ability to discern what was true. In a world where people with completely opposite ideologies can feel so strongly that theirs is the right one—who was I to think that I was any more right than anyone else? Indentity crisis set in. I felt ashamed, confused, and afraid. In April of 2017, I stepped down from my church’s worship team and moved back to Nashville. Once I hit my spiritual rock bottom, songwriting found me (it always does.) With music as my comfort and catharsis, I wrote songs that helped me find peace with what I really believe—and let go of what I don’t.

Out of this shift, a new project was born.

Evening and Morning is all about false dichotomies. It’s about iving in the tension between confusion and understanding, doubt and faith, restlessness and peace, cynicism and hope. So I’ve broken it up into two EP’s. Evening contains songs that I wrote in a state of restlessness, confusion, or longing, whereas Morning comes from moments of new understanding, resilience, and peace.

Together, the album is about facing our demons. Choosing to accept who we are, where we are. Embracing the freedom that comes from knowing that everything—everything—is temporary. So, no matter where we are right now—whatever darkness, whatever evening we’re in—there is always a new morning coming.

And even in the midst of the darkness, there is light to be found.