Episode 235: Tenille Townes

Thanks to vinyl's nearly two decades of steady growth and new pressing plants popping up almost annually, the physical act of getting LP's pressed as an independent artist is easier than ever. But, that's not to say that it's easy. Canadian singer/songwriter Tenille Townes, for instance, recently found herself taking the leap out of the Nashville country music machine and funding, recording and pressing her new album The Acrobat completely on her own. This included a modest vinyl pre-order goal of 300 copies, still more than she'd ever sold via pre-order while with a proper label. Luckily, the fan base she's been slowly building through Billboard Canada Country chart number ones and (as NPR says) "passionate and empathetic songs that capture the complexities of the heartland" more than tripled that original estimate. On this week's show, Tenille details the nuts and bolts of bringing The Acrobat from a laptop in her bedroom to turntables around the globe, and all the dollars and doubt that came with it. The Acrobat is available now via all digital platforms, and on vinyl from tenilletownes.com.