Songwriting Magazine Podcast: ‘Express Yourself’ with Makena Hartlin

The Nashville singer-songwriter opens up about lyric writing, creativity and the pursuit of an authentic songwriting voice

The podcast has reached double digits and, for this milestone, we’re joined by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Makena Hartlin. As we’ve said before, she’s “One of the most original lyricists in Nashville, with a voice as pure as morning light breaking over a hilltop.” Who better, then, to guide us in finding our own authentic voice?

We first encountered Makena last summer at the Listening Room Café during a weekly Song Suffragettes night in Nashville. From the first song, it was clear her writing was not only distinctive, but able to distil emotions and ideas into lines that resonate far and wide.

Impressed by her talents, we were fortunate to join her and fellow Illinois-born songwriter Maura Streppa – also carving her path in Music City – to witness their co-writing process in action. Years of dedication have brought them to the point where they can create songs as naturally as holding a conversation. You can read all about our experience in our Autumn 2024 issue (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Suitably inspired, we later crowned Makena’s Conspiracy Theory our Song of the Year for 2024. Since then, releases such as Every Time The World Ends, Love Left, and Flipside have each showcased her distinctive lyrical style, delivered with that magical vocal. These are songs you wish you’d written yourself, but could only have come from this singular artist.

We couldn’t think of anyone better to speak with about the art of lyric writing: the songwriters she looks to for inspiration, the prompts she uses when ideas run dry, and the way she mines her own life for detail. Together, these approaches help create what all songwriters strive for, an authentic, original voice with broad appeal.

One of our best conversations yet, we hope that even the most seasoned songwriters will pick up some tips from it. You can learn more about Makena at makenahartlinmusic.com (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and, if this episode has inspired you – or you’ve written a song based on Makena’s prompt – email us at podcast@songwritingmagazine.co.uk (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Thanks for listening!

Members can listen to this episode of the podcast using the audio player below, or via Spotify (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)