Liz Carlisle's Big Dreams

As “Let Me Be The One,” The First Single From ‘Big Dreams' Hits Country Radio, Liz Carlisle Will Be Touring Extensively This Summer, Playing Festivals And Opening For Josh Turner, Billy Currington, Jack Ingram, The Wreckers and Heartland.

The Phi Beta Kappa And Summa cum Laude Graduate In Ethnomusicology Has Opened Shows For LeAnn Rimes, Sugarland, Travis Tritt, Lonestar, Diamond Rio, Steve Holy, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town and Joe Nichols

Liz Carlisle is a poster child for a new generation of country music, a true renaissance woman who quotes George Jones as effortlessly as George Washington and George Orwell. Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, the 23-year-old singer/songwriter recently graduated from Harvard University, where she became an award-winning undergraduate scholar in ethnomusicology. Far from leaving her roots behind, however, Liz chose to study American music. And she brought her boots, hat, and guitar with her. She's a young woman with Big Dreams , an apt title for her first release on Wildground Records .

Set for release on May 18 , less than a year after Liz gave the undergraduate address at her commencement, the compelling, multi-faceted recording was co-written and produced by Carlisle's longtime collaborator, Russell Wolff.

The album's first single “Let Me Be The One” is set to ship to commercial country radio on April 30, while the collection as a whole will also be marketed to public radio, college radio, Triple AAA and Americana outlets nationwide.

Liz has already scheduled nearly 20 tour dates this summer, including several large music festivals (including the Moondance Country Jam in Walker, Minnesota and the Bethlehem Musikfest in Pennsylvania) and opening spots for well-known country acts like Josh Turner, Billy Currington, Jack Ingram, The Wreckers, Heartland and Lonestar. The line-up of dates will be announced shortly.

Both Liz's music and the way in which her career developed say much about the modern audience for country music. The young singer/songwriter began as a darling of the acoustic music scene in Cambridge, a storied hotbed of sixties folk music that has since launched the careers of artists like Tracy Chapman and Jewel. As her career developed, however, she was equally comfortable opening large stage shows for major country artists in both rural and urban communities across the United States.

“I think most people have come to the long overdue realization that country music is not hick music,” Liz says. “It's an incredibly rich tradition with a lot of wisdom about humanity, and I think people of all backgrounds are attracted to that.”

Her unique contribution to this tradition demonstrates its widening scope. Among the songwriter's influences are her father's James Taylor records, as well as the pop and rock music of her own formative years. But there is no question as to where Big Dreams is rooted. “I like country music that sounds like country music,” Liz says. “Dolly, Reba, a big loud pedal steel guitar. There's so much emotion packed into that sound.”

Considering the depth of the lyrics of the songs on Big Dreams, it's hard to believe that these songs came from a songwriter fresh out of college. (Liz co-wrote much of the material with Wolff, but penned most of the words herself). By the second track, “Maybe in the Next Life,” Liz is already delving into the challenges faced by her parents, who were both divorced with children when they began dating. “Hey California,” while tongue-in-cheek in its country-rock poke at city slickers, takes on serious issues faced by growing rural communities. “Let Me Be The One” is a straightforward love song, but the catchy track is still chock-full of mature observations.

Nashville's top studio talent was tapped for the recording of this album, and it shows. Mixer Bart Pursley (Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson) put together a stellar band with a collective resume spanning Johnny Cash to Vince Gill to Alison Krauss to Dierks Bentley. Sessions were held at John and Martina McBride's Blackbird Studios (where The White Stripes and Martina herself were also recording at the time) and The Tracking Room. With all the Music City muscle behind Big Dreams, however, much of the credit for the album's strength goes to its producer Wolff, an alt-pop singer-songwriter based in New England.

Although Big Dreams is destined for even more national attention, Liz's first full album, also produced by Wolff, garnered much praise – particularly for an independent debut (and considering that the artist still had to finish her senior thesis while promoting it). Five Star Day , released in 2005, garnered favorable reviews from such media outlets as The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, and The BBC. The single “Montana” continues to play on commercial country radio, and the full album has received heavy airplay at public radio stations around the world. On the strength of this album, Liz received several songwriting awards, toured England and Scotland for three consecutive summers, and sang the national anthem at a New England Patriots game.

Last summer, just two months after graduation, she landed her first opening gig for a major country artist. Her show at Hampton Beach Casino in New Hampshire with Sugarland was a resounding success, leading to shows in larger venues with a virtual who's who of country music: LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt, Little Big Town, Lonestar, Diamond Rio, Steve Holy, Miranda Lambert and Hal Ketchum.

Four years of nonstop touring – the last two at nearly 100 dates per year – clearly separate Liz from many debut country artists whose stage experience is limited to Nashville showcases or their own regional circuit. “I've never seen anything like it,” admits booking agent Jake Kennedy of Wanderlust Touring. “I thought Liz was a great talent from the beginning, but even I was surprised to see the response from the venues, agents, and management companies I work with – not to mention the audiences. She walks in there as an unknown, no make up, no radio single yet, and just her and Russell on stage – and she walks out with 5,000 new fans all asking for her autograph. That's when you know it's more than just great songs.”

The genuineness and positive energy that Liz projects on stage are a big part of what Big Dreams is all about. “This is a celebration of the human spirit,” Liz says of her budding life's work. “That is the starting point of all our goals and aspirations, whether we're trying to be President or just be a good mother, daughter, or spouse. I want to connect on a human level with everyone there. I want to help create that environment in which those dreams can flourish.”