Artists hope to stand out from the crowd. When it comes to Lou Ridley, there is no doubt that she knows who she is and what makes her unique, but she didn't start out that way. As a young girl, she knew she was somehow different, but it took years to find out why she felt like that and discover her reason for being here. Once she accomplished that, there was no looking back.
Born in Houston and raised in Keller and Northlake, Texas, Ridley struggled. She revealed, "As a kid I always felt really weird and I never knew why. I didn't really fit in and I got bullied a lot. I was much happier when we had a ranch and I could just go out and be by the animals and not talk to human beings. We eventually sold the ranch and moved to the city because they had the best schools and I had a pretty rough time. I didn't like it, it was not fun for me. I just always felt like an outcast, and now after therapy and finding my purpose, I'm like, 'No wonder I felt like an outcast, I wasn't allowing myself to be who I deep down was.' I felt like I had to behave certain ways so that I wasn't bullied."
A story we hear all too often, but thankfully once the whole childhood/school experience is over, most people develop a better sense of self and go on to be happy, well-adjusted adults. Ridley followed that pattern and she seems to be thriving these days.
Becoming a musical artist wasn't on her radar as a kid, which looking back, it could have been her saving grace, but that's water under the bridge now and sometimes life has a way of putting us where we're supposed to be, no matter how painful or confusing, in order to have insight for the future. I suspect Lou Ridley's exposure to a less-than-perfect start is serving her well in the present day, or at least that's the most positive way to view it.
To further bolster my theory, Ridley went on to say, "My story is the same as so many. I just had to get out into the world and learn that the mean girls in high school are actually not that cool. I am cool." Her self-esteem has improved dramatically and much of that has to be credited to music. She said she didn't really know she could sing until college, but once she realized she had that ability, she began her journey of self-awareness and was able to figure out her destiny.
My introduction to Lou Ridley's music was her latest single, "Good Bad Day," and a perfect place to start the conversation about her career as a singer/songwriter. I listened to it and thought it was well-written with a theme we could probably all use from time to time. Ridley has a pleasant voice and added just the right amount of varied emotions to make us believe she really means what she's singing. I told her one of my favorite lines in the song is "In the end I'm dyin' either way, so I'm gonna have a good bad day." In essence, every day you have on Earth is a gift, good or bad, so why not make the best of any kind of day? Ridley agreed that's just what the song is trying to convey. "When you understand your own mortality, you think, 'I need to have a good day anyway.'"
Penned by Ridley, John Frank and Fran Litterski, the title for "Good Bad Day" was the brainchild of Litterski. She had the title as soon as the trio decided what the writers' room had in store for them that day. Ridley explained, "I was having a really rough day when I had this write scheduled. I actually almost canceled the write and then something in me was like, 'Just go anyway.' When I got to talking with John and Fran, John was speaking about his own experiences because he's been a songwriter a long time. He was talking about how it all works when you don't wanna play on certain days and we all just came to a conclusion. Sometimes it's about finding the good and hanging on to that because at the end of the day, it never does any good to focus on the negative. It's important to acknowledge it, but I don't know how long I have here, so while I'm absolutely not a stranger to having a bad day or being stressed, anxious or sad, why don't we just try and have a good day anyway? Like a stream of consciousness, the song just flowed out of us."
"Good Bad Day" was written in Nashville and then taken to Chris Linck in Atlanta, who is Ridley's frequent producer. Alex Bennett, Ridley's guitarist, accompanied her to Atlanta on that trip and ended up playing on the track.
I'm always interested to know how musicians from other parts of the country (or the world), get acclimated once they arrive in Nashville. No two stories are the same, but Lou Ridley's was one I'm quite sure I haven't heard before. She recollected, "When I moved here it was on the advice of my attorney, Christian Barker. I moved during COVID and at the time, Los Angeles was on complete lockdown. There was no toilet paper or groceries and I felt pretty trapped. He said to me, 'Come out to Nashville because you're making country music in LA and it doesn't really make sense.' I thought that sounded fair, so I came out here and he had me meet a bunch of really great people. A month later I moved here. At first, honestly, country was not interested in me. The rock guys took me in first. Andrew Bayliss really took me in and produced my 2024 EP see you soon... that I have. I kind of found kindred spirits in the rock and alternative spaces. Then over time I think country started to be like, 'Okay, maybe she is kinda cool. Maybe we should let her in.' There are a lot of female and queer country artists that have felt safe to be in my life. All of us are sort of building this community that's pretty undeniable. So it's only the last couple years that I think this city has really opened its doors to me, and they're only cracked even now."
Generally a cracked-open door eventually leads to it opening wider, so be sure to keep your eye on Lou Ridley. Let's see what happens now that she's managed to knock a few bricks in the wall down. One thing that should help blast that wall down a little more is her tour schedule. I saw it on her website and was impressed. It's quite lengthy and goes in several directions. When I mentioned it, she replied with a laugh, "Yes, I'm already tired just looking at it." The tour kicked off on November 3rd and continues into the spring of 2027. She'll be touring acoustically, opening for Bryan Andrews, who she called "one of my best friends."
I wanted her to tell me about some of the people she's been working with and really enjoying. She went back to her producer Chris Linck from Atlanta. "Chris is also in the band Attila, which is a pretty big metal band, which is kind of funny. He's absolutely a pleasure to work with and he does a lot of my stuff now."
Touring as his support act, Ridley brought up Bryan Andrews again. "I'm writing a lot for Bryan. I wrote his last four singles, I think, and the two biggest songs he's had." Although I'm not sure if these were his two biggest songs, two of the ones Ridley had a hand in writing were "Yeehaw" and "Left Right Left."
There was a new name tossed in too. "I just started writing with David 'Messy' Mescon. He does a lot for Megan Moroney ("6 Months Later," "Traitor (Roles Reversed)") and Nicki Minaj ("Bed" ft. Ariana Grande). He's so versatile."
Ridley also added one more shout out to Andrew Bayliss. "He took a chance on me when nobody would work with me and he invested money into the project. At the time I had about 500 monthly listeners, no one was interested or found me yet, so I will be eternally indebted to him for that."
It's good that she has a staunch ally in Nashville and she's well aware of that. "When I first got here I think I was too extreme for people, but as this current administration has developed, I think a lot of people are starting to understand why I believe the things I do and why I'm outspoken. I actually made a lot of allies out of people who may not necessarily feel comfortable to speak out, but they really like what I'm saying. They support me, whether it's secretly or publicly. I have made some pretty big friendships with large artists because they're like, 'I just wanna support you any way I can because we need to be having these conversations.' So I've found a lot of support in the last couple years through that. It's just like we're all tired of the same shit, whether or not that's their platform, that's their business. Some people have families and when you have children it's not always comfortable to talk about those things. For me, I don't have any kids and I'm not in a partnership, so I can just be brazen and I don't worry about it too much."
She's a woman with strong beliefs and isn't afraid to speak her mind.
If you see photos or video of Lou Ridley, you'll notice her sense of style immediately. That was definitely a road worth traveling. Where does she find such incredible pieces to put her look together? She was happy to share her magic formula. "For the last year and a half I've been working with Alejandra LaPilusa. She's a stylist out of Los Angeles. She does styling for SZA, Kehlani, Jorja Smith and Kali Uchis. She's incredible. She styles me and part of it is because she's so dedicated to the messaging. She'll be styling this upcoming tour. We are trying to exclusively pull from designers who give back to necessary causes or use really vintage stuff that's fucking badass."
As far as her own musical tastes, Ridley describes herself as "across the board." She detailed what she likes to listen to when she's not doing her own music. "It depends on what kind of mood I'm in. I've been on an Alanis Morissette kick recently, also Fiona Apple and Bjork. I'm learning how to communicate my feminine rage in a more evolved way. I always refer to Dolly Parton, Reba, Loretta Lynn, Billie Holiday, The Chicks and Nina Simone. All the women throughout history that have very eloquently communicated their life experience and the world around them. It's anybody that's been reprimanded for speaking openly about a very real experience for all of us, I'm absorbing that right now."
At times when she's not dealing with music at all, what does she like to do? "I love to pick mushrooms, go on hikes and listen to a lot of meditation music (it's music, but there's a lot more to it). I also enjoy philanthropy. Any opportunity I have to get involved, whether that's helping an organization or helping someone that needs food on the street, whatever the case may be, I really enjoy being in service to other people. Anytime I find that opportunity, which the universe gives me often because I think she knows I enjoy it, I take it."
As for future music, there's something coming out soon, but it's still a mystery. According to Lou Ridley, "I have a great song coming out in November (this month) with a good friend of mine. This person is bigger than me so I don't know that I can say anything more. I don't want to upset their label. The song is going to showcase my comedic side, which I've been capturing on social media because I'm always trying to hammer on causes, but I actually enjoy standup comedy a lot. It's what I'd do if I weren't in music."
Finally, because we are Center Stage Magazine, I learned of a time when Lou Ridley truly felt "center stage." She elaborated, "I played the Bourbon & Beyond Festival recently and it was my first major festival. I've never played for that many people. There were so many people hearing me from the tent and coming in. It was at that moment where I saw my work affect a bunch of people who had no idea who I was and that really made me feel at the center."
Stay in tune with Lou Ridley by following her on her website and on social media. If you drop her a comment, please let her know Center Stage Magazine sent you!
