As singer, songwriter, and percussionist Lauren Monroe and I discussed her new album The Freedom Sessions, the conversation turned to the third track, “My Love.” “I think that “My Love,” taps into a very vulnerable, personal journey (for me). It is a delicate place about loving someone or something, and then letting it go. I sang it with Moon Calhoun, who is an amazing human being. He is a drummer who has played with The Gap Band, Rufus, Neil Young and Michael Thompson. He is one of the most amazing percussionists,” observes Monroe, who also happens to be married to a pretty amazing drummer, in Rick Allen, from Def Leppard.

Pursuing the topic of Calhoun for a moment longer, Monroe says, “He was in an accident fourteen years ago, and now he is a paraplegic. He is in a wheelchair and his life has changed tremendously. I wrote “My Love,” right after I met him. I was inspired by him, and I really wanted him to sing it with me. That song holds a lot of personal meaning for me. It is a very strong and vulnerable song.

Moon also lost his wife to cancer, shortly after his accident. That was a double blow. I started thinking about how I would feel, if I had a husband in the military, knowing that he was going away to war, and that I might not see him again. All of the things that we deal with right now, with war, disease, having a partner, and having someone that you love in that position, it all came into the song. “My Love.” The song is about reflecting on gratitude.”

“My Love,” also features a brilliant organ solo by John Thomas. “A friend of ours, Wynn Paris, introduced us to JT. JT is just brilliant and he is like family. It was John Thomas who introduced us to Moon. JT is one of the most amazing keyboard and piano players that I have ever met. He plays with Bruce Hornsby most of the time. He also acted as the musical director, for a lot of the backing sessions on this CD. He guided the sessions, when we were recording the bass and guitars at his place. He was amazing, and he was a very big emotional support for me,” says Monroe.

Although most of the songs on The Freedom Sessions are heavily influenced by roots or roots associated music, evidenced in songs such as, “Love Won’t Let Me Down,” "Wildest Dreams," and the Mississippi Delta tinged, “Black River,” Monroe’s music is still not easily categorized, nor should it be.

“My music is hard for me to pinpoint as well. For me, Americana is crossover music, and it touches upon the very foundation of America, which comes from the blues, bluegrass, country and gospel. When you put all of those things together, you have an artist who wants to tell a story. To me that is Americana. My music is also acoustic rock based, with a little bit of blues in there, and I guess what you would call pop. I am the wrong person to ask, because I just like to write the music and express it. I think that my music falls into a lot of other genres, as well as Americana. It is a difficult question, because you want people to be drawn to your music, because they like a specific kind of music, especially as an artist who does not have a lot of public promotion. I guess I am a cross genre artist,” explains Monroe.

The song, “Black River,” becomes somewhat of a cultural and musical melting pot for Monroe’s music. “All of my influences come from artists in the late sixties and seventies. My background as a singer / songwriter comes from a rootsie, rock place. “Black River,” came from that place. It is a song about reflecting on the past, upon our history as human beings, our personal histories and then taking responsibility for what has gone before us. The song is about wanting to clear it (the history), and then start again on a fresh page. It is about embracing that shadow and the things that have come before me, and then healing it,” says Monroe.  Readers can listen to Laura Monroe's, "Black River," through the Riveting Riffs Magazine jukebox by clicking here.

Lauren Monroe gives credit to her co-writer and fellow musician Stoll Vaughan, for helping to create much of the feel to The Freedom Sessions. “He brought a Delta bluesy feel to this album. He is also bolder in the country (music) element than I have ever been. The songwriting and the flavor of the music, in those aspects, really came from him,” she says.