JESSICA WILLIS FISHER’S SOPHOMORE ALBUM “BLOOMING” OUT MAY 16

Following a solo-debut centered on the experience of survival and starting over, Blooming heralds a new season of thriving for Jessica Willis Fisher. The record — produced by Ben Fowler and recorded in Nashville — is high-spirited and wide-ranging, folk made fresh through Fisher’s signature fiddle and emotive voice. Eight of the nine songs are self-penned, rich with nature imagery, and rooted in themes of growth and continued healing. Blooming is both a wanderlust-fueled soundtrack to adventure and a heartfelt work of art.

“There are some flowers that bloom one time and that’s it, but how about we go with the flowers that come back every year?” says Fisher. “I aspire to be a perennial, if you will. Beautiful things take time to grow, to let things evolve. That’s where I feel all these songs have come from. This is the next chapter of both my story and my artistry. For me, those are linked in every way.”

“It’s not just the music, but everything else that goes along with it, too. The album cover, which of course is the main visual everyone gets to see, was another way to flex my creative muscles. Once we decided on the title, Blooming, I knew I wanted to tie in my long standing obsession with Tennessee wildflowers. Then the purple Echinacea flowers are an ode to the garden of my great grandmother, and the Dogwoods, my favorite, always bloom around my Spring birthday. Everything you see there, has a deeper meaning to me.”

The acoustic nature of Blooming allows Fisher’s pure soprano to shine alongside her thoughtful songwriting and distinctive fiddle playing. With a love for literature and the influence of Celtic music, she has blended elements of folk, Irish, bluegrass and Americana music into these songs while establishing her own creative vision. That open-minded musical approach is especially clear in “Dogwood,” one of the album’s most revealing songs.

“‘Dogwood’ is about embracing the uniqueness of who you are, accepting every part of yourself,” she says. “Even our deepest wounds can have a special kind of beauty. The world is better for having all of us, and our differences.”

A sense of renewal is central to “Healing,” a rousing anthem that would immediately capture the attention of any festival audience. In addition, the joyous “June” sparkles with anticipation of a new season, “One of a Kind” evokes her tender, romantic side, and “Build a House” conveys the importance of companionship, commitment, and being curious to the whole world.

“Overall, this is a pretty positive record. I’m living a life I didn’t think I was going to have, in many ways,” says Fisher, who married her husband, Sean, in 2017. “I have a lot to be grateful for, a lot to celebrate just seeing how far I’ve come in the last few years.”

There are moments where her personal struggles do come to the forefront. Perhaps the most vulnerable song of the album, “Honest” reflects the heartfelt approach Fisher has taken with her audience as well as herself. “‘Honest’ is my way of maintaining my integrity,” she says. “Being honest isn’t easy all the time, and I think we have an idea in our head about what love might be, or what honesty might be, or what courage might be, and then the lived experience of it is so much more nuanced and even conflicted.”

That sense of conflict is particularly evident in “Seeds,” as she sings, “How do I grow when I’m tangled in the weeds? What if it dies? What if it seeds?” Acknowledging the past but with a desire to live in the present, she observes, “There were seeds planted in my life that I do not want to grow. Those toxic things need to be weeded out. It’s an ongoing process.”

At the intersection of old-time and Irish music, Fisher found inspiration to write “Find a Lover,” a catchy song that sounds like it’s been passed down for a few hundred years. “It’s as if Dolly Parton was Snow White in the Appalachian Mountains,” she says.

In a similar vein, she adds her own spirit to “The Fox,” a folk song she loved as a young girl which spotlights her love of traditional music and effervescent approach to the fiddle.

Blooming finds Fisher more confident in her own unique blend of artistry harvesting authentic and poignant material from her own journey of life—wounds, blooms, and all.

About Jessica Willis Fisher
Her debut solo album, 2022’s Brand New Day, served as a reset for her career. The intensely personal songs captured a dramatic moment of change as she explored the emotions of breaking away from her sexually abusive father, which also meant an abrupt departure from the family’s band, the Willis Clan. Today she continues to advocate for survivors, sharing her own story with others who have faced similar situations. For many who have heard her message, she also serves as a beacon for new paths forward.

After publishing Unspeakable: Surviving My Childhood and Finding My Voice, a memoir about those traumatic experiences, Fisher returned to songwriting to express a new era in her life and career. The result is Blooming, with an album title that suggests her story is still being told.