“I want to change the world, and I’m just little old me, so I might as well do that with lyrics because God gave me that talent to tell stories and hopefully make people laugh.”

This week we got to champion a uniquely talented artist, who truly knows who she is and what kind of music she wants to put out into the world. Our Swag Spotlight is singer-songwriter, Tara Thompson. We recently got to chat with the songstress about her career, her musical family, and of course, her brand new Christmas album, which she dropped just two weeks ago.

It was evident throughout our conversation that Thompson has one of those infectious, can’t quit, personalities that she has had since childhood. Growing up in East Tennessee, she tells us that music was always in her blood. “I was one of those weird kids that always had a microphone in my hand, as in the remote was a microphone, the shampoo was a microphone,” adding, “I knew since birth I wanted to be a singer.”

Thompson grew up admiring her cousin and country superstar, Loretta Lynn, sharing “I got to grow up and watch her from behind the scenes and I was completely hooked on it and knew that was exactly what I wanted to do,” later adding, “It’s an honor to be related to someone like Loretta Lynn.” She also credits some of the old-school country greats like Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Tanya Tucker, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash as some of her all-time favorites.

At the tender age of eighteen, Thompson moved to Nashville, where like many artists, she played gigs at bars, for ten years, before she got her break, signing with Big Machine Records. The songstress released her debut record with the label, only to get released three years later. Ironically, being released from the label gave Thompson a new lease on life and a clever idea for an independent record.

She recently premiered her first project as an independent artist called Hillbilly Christmas, featuring the clever and charming lead single “Willie Nelson Tickets” and nine other festive tracks. “I said from the start I want when people hear this album to think ‘wow that’s country music,’ from the first note to the end. It almost takes you back in time, mixed old school and modern, yeah, country,” she shares about the record, hoping that fans garner it “timeless” and break it out year after year for the holidays.

Thompson is sure to make waves with her newest release. She shows her wit, her originality, and her talent throughout the music. The singer-songwriter promises that she has more new music in the works, calling her soon to be released songs, “A lot deeper,” adding, “I feel like my last album that I put out […] was a lot more tongue in cheek. I still like doing that, but I think this is more- I went through something, so my fans get to see a side of me that’s like ‘Oh, oh wow, that’s where she’s been.’ I feel like they can maybe relate to me on a deeper level. So real, authentic, and deep.”

To keep up with Tara Thompson follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Hillbilly Christmas is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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