Lilly Winwood

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Lilly Winwood- Daughter of classic rock legend Steve Winwood, Lilly grew up playing and writing. By growing up in both the States and England, Winwood’s international music influences help inspire her unique sound that’s intertwined with her strong Nashville base.

Interview conducted on October 23, 2020

By Dan Locke

Lilly Winwood released her new single “Few More Records” today from her forthcoming album Time Well Spent, exclusively premiered by Medium. A bluesy, moody track, Winwood’s wise-beyond-her-years tone fills the wistful, but resilient lyrics. Staying true to her Americana roots, the song is framed with a subtle steel guitar, southern rock guitars and classic rock piano riffs. An underdog anthem, “Few More Records” firmly solidifies Winwood as an up-and-coming Americana artist to watch

How did you discover music? How did you start writing music? How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?

I come from a musical family, so I feel like naturally, it has always been around and I’ve been singing/ playing for as long as I can remember. I started writing at about 13 years old & got my first guitar around 8 years old. It was a little fender squire that I got for my birthday and I think it’s still lying around somewhere at my parents’ house! I wore that thing out.

What was your first performance like?

My first performance was in front of my school – we played “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” on remembrance day – I played guitar and my brother played drums and I can just remember being VERY nervous!

What makes a good songwriter?

In my opinion, a good songwriter is someone who’s not afraid to put down all your bare thoughts into a song. It’s a very vulnerable thing to do and something I strive to do – it takes a lot of guts.

You recorded “Higher Love” with your dad for The Hershey commercial. Do you remember the first time you heard the final recording on either television or radio?

I don’t think I ever actually saw the commercial on TV or heard the song on the radio, but I can remember friends telling me they had seen it and it gave me such a great and warm fuzzy feeling. I think the commercial has a great message about a father and daughter coming together to spend quality time with each other.

Your EP Silver Stage pays homage to singer/songwriters. Which singer/songwriter blew you away once you met them?

I don’t get star struck very often, but meeting Susan Tedeschi blew me away. I walked into her giant dressing room at the London O2 with my dad to meet Derek Trucks and her, I must’ve been about 17 years old or so, and although she didn’t say a lot. She was sitting in front of this beautiful gold mirror that made her look like a goddess and she had this certain aura around her that made her not seem human! It was a magical experience and I think about that night often.

Tell me about your forthcoming album “Time Well Spent”, which comes out next year?

Time Well Spent is an 11-track album that I’ve been waiting to put out into the world for far too long now! It contains some of my most vulnerable and bare-naked songwriting about travel, heart-break and personal struggles. It was produced here in Nashville, TN at High Cotton Recording Studio and was produced by Allen Thompson and Alex Munoz.

What is your favorite track on the album?

My favourite track on the album is “Indiana.” When I went into the studio to record the song, I had no idea what was going to come out at the end of the day, and the players I had on the session really brought out every emotion in every lyric. It’s a song about the biggest heartbreak I’ve ever had to go through about a guy from Indiana and that state always held such a strange place in my heart. When driving from Nashville to get to Chicago to play a show or something, sometimes I used to just stay a night or two in Indiana just to find some sort of weird connection that I still had to him and I would end up getting blackout drunk and hanging out with strangers and spiraling into this dark place that I eventually overcame when I found the courage to just get back on the road. It’s not the most light-hearted song, but I hold a lot of feelings in those lyrics.

Digital vs. vinyl?

I am unfortunately a millennial and haven’t had the chance to really explore a vinyl world, so based on that alone, I’m going to have to go with digital!

What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?

The song “Dreams” by ‘The Cranberries’ has been on repeat in my music library quite a lot lately – I’m getting really into high resonance/flangey guitar tones and all round early 90’s sounds – this song is inspiring!

What have you been doing with your self-quarantine? Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?

Quarantine has weirdly kept me disciplined! I’m happy to say I’ve been putting my head down and working hard. It’s been a good thing for me not being able to get up and get out and do the things that used to be so readily available. I’ve been hiking, writing, and cooking a lot.

How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merch to them at the show?

We live in a world where I think musicians can connect with their fans more than ever via the internet. Whether it be an online live show or just releasing new music, there are always ways to keep fans interested.

If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?