Young Local Musician Ellie Austin Wins First Walnut House Middle Tennessee Songwriters Series

Ellie Austin

Walnut House’s Middle Tennessee Songwriters Series of shows wrapped up on Nov. 20, and organizers presented contest series winner and Murfreesboro native Ellie Austin with a package including a Walnut House recording package for a five-song EP professionally recorded and mastered with a full band, a year’s worth of guitar strings and other prizes.

“Everyone gave a tremendous performance. There’s a huge abundance of talent here in the middle of Middle Tennessee,” says songwriter series co-sponsor Ricky Martini of the Walnut House. “We want to help people show the talent they possess and get started—or continue—with their music career.”

Austin is a senior at Central Magnet School who counts Brandi Carlile, The Secret Sisters, Lewis Capaldi and Adele among her influences and says songwriting has been her passion for as long as she can remember.

“You can imagine the kind of songs a six-year-old writes,” she laughs. “My mom got me hooked on country music from a young age, and some of my favorite country influences are Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift’s earlier albums. But in dealing with chronic illnesses and other issues for the past five years, writing songs quickly transformed from a favorite hobby into a necessary form of catharsis.

Despite the occasional “happy” song, Austin tells the Pulse that she tends to write about heartache.

“I think there’s a subtle beauty in falling apart; that’s how we learn who we really are. Regardless of content or subject matter, I want others to feel heard and understood when listening to my songs. For my whole life—especially in my darkest valleys—songwriting has been a vessel through which I’ve released complicated emotions and tried to make sense of my circumstances,” she shares. “I’ve been blessed with the gift of using words to articulate my innermost fears and hopes, but I know that some people struggle with that. By writing with vulnerability and transparency about whatever I’m going through, I hope to voice what others are thinking and feeling when they don’t know how. Above all else, I aim to glorify God in everything I do. I’ve been writing more worship songs—and broken prayers in the form of songs—recently, and that process fosters a sense of inner peace in the midst of chaos. I feel the Lord’s presence when I write and sing for Him.”

Austin has posted a few one-minute clips of her originals to her Instagram and adds a lot of shorter clips to her Instagram stories each week. There’s a highlight section at instagram.com/ellie.grace.austin titled “Originals” at the top of her profile with many original clips from the past year or so.

The series of 10 Middle Tennessee Songwriters shows began in July. Each of the first nine shows consisted of 12 accomplished songwriters and up to five songwriter contestants. Based on audience votes the winner advanced to the Nov. 20 final. There, nine writers performed in three groups, each with a host (Taylor Pie, Robyn Taylor and Allen J. Morrell serving as hosts). Runner-ups Kaylee Flores and Pepper Martin received a five-song acoustic recording. When the next series kicks off, contestants Sara Kays, Justin Bowman, Gabe David, Ralph Hayes, Jolie Bell and Glenn Brown, along with the winners, will all become part of the regular rotation of performing songwriters.

“I performed and won on opening night, which gave me the opportunity to compete in the finale a few months later,” Austin enthusiastically explains. “I sang two originals: ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’ and ‘Who You’ll Be.’ The first capitalizes on the feeling of freedom discovered when all the little reminders of someone you once loved—like a stunning sunset or an old favorite song on the radio—no longer have a hold on you. The second is the most honest, transparent song I’ve ever written, and it resembles a letter to my younger self with everything I’d want her to know if I could go back. It follows my journey with body image struggles and an eating disorder, focusing first on where I was in middle school, then on where I am now as a senior in high school, and finally on where I hope to be in the future. Despite the heavy subject matter, instilled within the lyrics is an undefeated sense of hope—something I didn’t have at the time but something I’m finally starting to grasp.”

Austin adds that “after participating in the first open-mic contest, I attended the following Wednesday night performances as often as I could to support the other extremely talented artists.”

That kind of support is surely music to the ears of others.

“This was the first time I’ve performed publicly in over three years,” competitor Jolie Bell shared via social media. “And the first time ever that my song ‘Sail (3.0)’ [with its inspired hook It didn’t bring you this far to fail / It just taught you how to sail] was performed in a public venue. I was blessed with the opportunity so while I may not have won, I was by far not a loser.”