Adele Lassiter Music

Born and bred in North Carolina, Adele Lassiter fell in love with music at a young age, immersing herself in various genres from Classical and Great Standards to Motown, pop, rock, and country.  

“I listened to everything as a kid.  The first concert I attended was The Beach Boys and I’d love to listen to our Oldies radio station, where my early songwriting inspiration took cues from Motown to folk singer-songwriters.  My earliest country influences came from bluegrass.  North Carolina has a rich music and roots culture, including an active bluegrass scene.  I loved how the instrumentation could take you on a journey with the music.”

Adele was drawn to Americana/Country because of her love of storytelling and poetry.  

“I’d write songs in high school that were folksy and seemed foreign compared to Top 40 radio.  Hearing artists like Paul Simon, James Taylor, and John Denver, opened my eyes and ears up that it is okay to forge my own style of music. I probably listened to Simon and Garfunkel’s Sounds of Silence album a million times with my Discman (before the grace of streaming with your phone). Americana and Country albums also filled my playlists. I remember hearing Sara Evans ' "Born to Fly" on the radio and was hooked. Deana Carter and Lee Ann Womack became huge influences for me.  

After graduating high school, Adele decided to move to Montana to attend Montana State University (for film/media studies), however after a freak car accident left her with a broken neck and other fractures, she returned to NC to recover.

“Right before the accident, I was talking to God in prayer, about my love of music and asking Him to help me with my music, and strange as it sounds, surviving this crash and making a full recovery despite the damage…it made me reexamine my goals.  I decided to work on moving to Nashville.  I started researching the music industry.  I noticed many of my favorite Music Row songwriters were Belmont University alums.  Located in the heart of Nashville, Belmont is a premier university for all things music.  Having the ability to pursue my degree with a built-in support system compelled me to enroll at Belmont.”

While at Belmont, Adele immersed herself in the university’s music business and songwriting courses.  “I was blessed to intern on Music Row at a major publishing house, where I could witness top songwriters creating the music, but also the marketing and business that goes into a song getting on the radio.”

“I performed a lot of open mics around town, including The Bluebird.  Sometimes it went great, other times I fell on my face, but I learned so much from just going and not being afraid to learn.  I think that’s harder the older we get because I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but it was going through that trial by fire that made me a better songwriter.  And I’m still learning and growing even today.”

After graduating from Belmont (2009) she lived in Bozeman Montana for five years, where Adele volunteered with The Sweet Pea Music Festival, helping to book major bands for the nonprofit festival.  Through this, she connected with Indie musicians who needed help booking their tours and promo. 

“I continued to write songs, but my focus shifted to the promotion side.  It is a joy to help an artist navigate the industry and encourage them to reach their potential.”

I moved back to NC in 2014 and life happens and I put my own recording goals aside.  After the pandemic, I realized I needed to focus on my music again. It brings me joy and I wanted to share these songs with others.  American Nomad is an EP of five songs I’ve written exploring different sides of my musical songwriting style, but each tied to this idea of ‘taking a journey.’  This particular EP is heavily influenced by my time living in Montana and Yellowstone Country.  

About ‘American Nomad’ 
Adele Lassiter’s new EP, American Nomad is a vibrant blend of Americana Country.  The songs are like postcards from a cross-country road trip, inspired by wide open spaces, resilience, and hope.  

The album opens with the rock-country fused Good Kind of Reckless.  “I was inspired to write this song while I was a student at Belmont University,” Adele explains. “Outside of Americana/Country, one of my biggest influences is The Cars.  I was listening to their smart songwriting and started fiddling around with ideas describing my love of music and also the frustrations of trying to ‘make it in the industry’ when I have a unique sound.  I can’t compare this track to the awesomeness of The Cars, but their sound influenced me as I wrote this country song with a bit of rock.  The Good Kind of Reckless thematically is anything you love and is worth fighting for.”

Rendezvous Heart is Adele’s ode to the open road. 
“I love to travel and learn about history and visit scenic places.  It helps me to connect with God and my faith, as I admire His creation.  It also helps open my eyes to other cultures, to learn and grow from one another.  This track was inspired by the expression ‘a little rendezvous,’ i.e. a weekend getaway. I have a rendezvous heart because I’m always looking to explore the byways and backroads to cultural places like museums in cities.  

The EP’s title comes from Rendezvous Heart’s chorus: “I was born an American Nomad, taking to the highways, taking to the streets.”

“American Nomad has been my moniker for a while.  I have a travel blog called American Nomad, where I detail my adventures from Yellowstone to Minnesota to The Blue Ridge Parkway.’  Travel and music go hand in hand for me as so much of my songwriting is inspired by my adventures in Yellowstone to The Blue Ridge Parkway.” 

Population One leans into a folk/Americana vibe. “I was driving from South Dakota into Wyoming and you’d see these towns with signs that say Population 10 and then I saw one that said ‘Population One’ and I thought what a cool idea for a song.  The song is about the need to tune out all the worry and anxiety and just go to the proverbial mountains and listen to God’s voice.  No place stirs my soul to wonder and ponder like Yellowstone and Montana.

The toe-tapping Ten Sleep invites listeners to a ‘red rock town, surrounded by giants that touch the sky.’  

"As you drive towards Cody Wyoming from Sheridan Wyoming, the scenery is unrivaled…canyons carved billions of years ago to these red rock valleys.  In the middle of this wilderness, you'll discover Ten Sleep, the roadside town where travelers can get gas after the winding road out of The Bighorns before heading west towards Cody.  The town claims to get its name from the fact it was ‘ten sleeps’ from there to Bozeman and The Bridgers.  That story ignited this modern-day retelling.  The narrator is searching for a better future.  She doesn’t know where she is going but can rest in Ten Sleep for the night.

The EP closes with the vintage western song, Midnight West.  “I worked for a summer in Yellowstone and I always enjoyed driving to Cody to go to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Cody Nite Rodeo.  When writing this song, I  imagined a story of ‘sweethearts of the rodeo’ who fall in love under Cody's 'wildfire skies.'

Adele credits the fantastic production to her collaboration with premier Nashville studio Beaird Music Group to record her album. “The entire staff at Beaird is amazing. They listen to your vision and bring in the best Nashville players to record.  Eli Beaird, who played bass on all the tracks is an ACM-nominated bass player.  The best thing about Eli and the crew at Beaird is they treat you as if you were music royalty.  They are kind and hardworking.  I can’t wait to work with them again.”  

Outside of music, Adele has published a novel under her penname 'Adele Darcy' called Solitude Lake (Amazon).  She also runs several blogs about travel and art history.