Biography

Contact email:[email] alecianugentmusic@gmail.com[/email]
Contact phone: 615-495-9222


Click here to go to Alecia Nugent - Music Page


A LITTLE GIRL...A BIG FOUR-LANE
Release date: February 28, 2006
Make way for Alecia Nugent. Astride her new Rounder Records release, A Little Girl…A Big Four-Lane, the unassuming lady from Hickory Grove, Louisiana is poised to set the woods ablaze while cutting wide swaths of new roads for herself. In collaboration with Grammy-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carl Jackson, Nugent has crafted a remarkable sophomore effort that is unapologetically personal – both in the way Nugent internalizes and delivers a lyric and in the unique musical settings that she and Jackson constructed.

“Alecia is really at home with this music,” Carl Jackson explains. “It’s not absolutely hardcore bluegrass, and it isn’t absolutely country, either. We just tried to make a great album.”

A Little Girl…A Big Four-Lane opens in high and hard bluegrass gear with a kick-out-the-lights take on Larry Cordle and Leslie Satcher’s “Too Good to Be True.” Whether navigating a knee-buckling ballad like her duet with the soulful Bradley Walker on “When it Comes Down to Us (It’s All Up to You)” or a white-knuckling free-for-all like “Breaking New Ground,” she misses nary a step.

Highlights continue throughout, from a mountains-moving “A Dozen White Roses,” which grabs for the heart and tugs a ton, wrenching tears one lyric at a time on this ballad of a man in sight of life’s end, to an intoxicatingly moody “Muddy River” with backing vocals by Jackson and Rebecca Lynn Howard.

The cast of supporting musicians is impressive confirmation of Nugent’s stature among her fellow artists and includes such A-list pickers as Jackson (guitar, banjo), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Jim Van Cleve (fiddle), and Andy Falco (guitar). In addition to Rebecca Lynn Howard, the roster of harmony vocalists boasts Alison Krauss (on the bittersweet “You’ve Still Got It”), Doyle Lawson and Jamie Dailey (on the rousing gospel closer “Meet Me in Heaven”), and Cia Cherryholmes.

There is a subtle autobiographical thread connecting the songs on A Little Girl…A Big Four-Lane, the songs echoing the path Alecia Nugent took to arrive where she is today. Tunes like “God Knows What” and “Letters From Home” express with unflinching honesty the difficult choices and subsequent consequences of life that say a great deal about where she’s been and where she’s going. “She really feels these songs,” Jackson says. “I’ve heard her say, ‘These songs are me.’ And I think so, too.”

Nugent’s career was born of a life in music, thanks to her parents’ strong influence. Performing throughout the south with her family band, Alecia cites influences as varied as Reba McIntire, Carl Smith, Ray Price, and Loretta Lynn. Mix in the indelible sounds and styles of legendary bluegrass acts like Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers, and you have some idea where Nugent’s unmistakable style originated.

Nugent met her producer, Carl Jackson nearly 15 years ago, when she had the opportunity to sing with him and Larry Cordle at a local event. “Carl believed in me from the beginning” Nugent explains. “Having him produce my albums,

means a great deal to my career. He’s such a professional. I think Carl definitely brings out the best in me.”

A Little Girl…A Big Four-Lane is intended to touch lives, move people in need of music that’s more than just something nice to listen to as the day passes by. For a great number of folks, music isn’t simply background fodder with which to accompany them through their lives; for many of them, songs can indeed say that which they would like to say, but can’t.

“Music is therapy for most people,” Alecia says. “They want to hear music that touches them, that means something to them. That’s what I like to sing. It’s the greatest feeling in the world when fans come up to you, saying that you touched them. That’s a great reward.”

Order of Songs on A LITTLE GIRL...A BIG FOUR-LANE

1. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (3:24)
Songwriters: Larry Cordle, Leslie Satcher
Publishing: 1998 Chordle's Creations (BMI) admin by ICG-2005
EMI April Music Inc.- Sound Island Publishing-Big Daddy's Baby (ASCAP) admin by EMI April Music Inc.

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Carl Jackson - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead/Background Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals


2. MUDDY RIVER (4:41)
Songwriters: Caitlan Hanford, John Sheard
Publishing: HYC Music - Diverse Music, SOCAN, admin by CMRAA

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Carl Jackson - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Rebecca Lynn Howard - Background Vocals


3. GOD KNOWS WHAT (3:14)
Songwriters: Mike Ward, Jimbeau Hinson
Publishing: Southern Cow Music (ASCAP), American Romance Songs (ASCAP) admin by CMS

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Cia Cherryholmes - Background Vocals


4. A DOZEN WHITE ROSES (4:08)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson, Larry Alderman
Publishing: 2005 Colonel Rebel Music (ASCAP)admin by ICG, Aldersong Music (ASCAP)

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Steve Sutton - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Rebecca Lynn Howard - Background Vocals


5. WHERE HIS WHEELS LEFT THE ROAD (3:57)
Songwriters: Leslie Satcher, Max D. Barnes
Publishing: 2005 EMI April Music Inc. Sound Island Publishing - Big Daddy's Baby (ASCAP) admin by EMI April Music Inc.; Still Working for the Man Music-Nude-Eel Music (BMI) admin by Universal Songs of Polygram.

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Bradley Walker - Background Vocals


6. I CRIED ALL THE WAY TO KENTUCKY (4:26)
Songwriters: Dixie Hall, Tom T. Hall
Publishing: Good Home Grown Music (BMI)

Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Carl Jackson - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Rebecca Lynn Howard - Background Vocals


7. WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO US (IT'S ALL UP TO YOU) (w/ Bradley Walker) (3:03)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson, Ray Kirkland
Publishing: Colonel Rebel Music-Rushing Water Music-Kentucky Thunder Music (ASCAP); Yankee Clipper Music-Lyric Springs Music-Wandachord Music (BMI) admin by ICG-Lehsem Music LLC (ASCAP)

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Bradley Walker - Duet Vocals


8. YOU'VE STILL GOT IT (3:01)
Songwriters: Jerry Salley, John Pennell
Publishing: 2004 Country Gentleman Music (SESAC) admin by ICG; Solargrass Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Alison Krauss - Background Vocals


9. BREAKING NEW GROUND (3:10)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley
Publishing: 1988 Universal Polygram International Publishing Inc.-Seventh Son Music, Inc.-Dixie Caroline Music (ASCAP) Multi Songs (SESAC) admin by BMG

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Steve Sutton - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead/Background Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals


10. IT WON'T BE ME (4:02)
Songwriter: Roger Brown
Publishing: 2006 Black in the Saddle Songs (ASCAP)

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Darren Nicholson - Background Vocals
Jennifer Strickland - Background Vocals


11. LETTER FROM HOME (3:30)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson, Jennifer McCarter
Publishing: 1988 Universal Polygram International Publishing, Inc.-Warner Brothers Music Corp.- Hen House Hits (ASCAP)

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Steve Sutton - Banjo
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Cia Cherryholmes - Background Vocals


12. SOMEWHERE ELSE TO FALL (3:17)
Songwriters: Jerry Salley, Liz Rose, Morgan Hayes
Publishing: 2004 Country Gentleman Music (SESAC) admin by ICG - 2005 Sony ATV Sounds LLC o/b/o Hillsboro Valley Songs (SESAC)- Sony ATV Timber Publishing - EMI Blackwood Music Inc - WZ2 Songs, Inc (BMI) admin by EMI Blackwood Music Inc

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Bradley Walker - Background Vocals


13. MEET ME IN HEAVEN SOMEDAY (Featuring Doyle Lawson and Jamie Dailey) (2:53)
Songwriters: Carl Jackson, Ronnie Bowman
Publishing: 2003 Colonel Rebel Music (ASCAP) admin by ICG- Sony ATV Songs LLC - William Franklin Music (BMI)

Carl Jackson - Acoustic Guitar
Andy Falco - Acoustic Guitar
Tony Creasman - Drums
Kevin Grantt - Bass
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Rob Ickes - Dobro
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle
Alecia Nugent - Lead Vocals
Carl Jackson - Background Vocals
Doyle Lawson - Background Vocals
Jamie Dailey - Background Vocals
Shelton Feazell - Background Vocals

BIOGRAPHY

by Craig Havighurst

Ever-larger numbers of music fans are discovering that Alecia Nugent is an artist to be cherished - one of those rare singers who can take you into the inner sanctum of a song and show you more than you could have ever found on your own. Upon the release of her debut album on Rounder Records in 2004, word spread fast that this fresh face and voice from the unlikely bluegrass cradle of rural Louisiana had the kind of power and sensitivity we associate with the legends. To festival goers in her region she was a local treasure, yet to the rest of the bluegrass world, she started out as but a rumor. Then a series of now-familiar events brought her to the wider world, not as a new teen prodigy, but a fully realized artist with life experience and something to say.

Nugent grew up in a large and musical family, singing bluegrass and gospel frequently with her father's Southland Bluegrass Band. Even then she had dreams of a full-fledged music career. Years later, when fate led her to a Nashville recording studio with master producer Carl Jackson and some of the world's best sidemen, that dream blew up from pilot light to blowtorch. Jackson's passionate discipline revealed to Nugent, with a clarity she hadn't known before, that she'd found her true calling.

A Little Girl...A Big Four-Lane is in many ways about everything that's followed from that epiphany. "It conveniently worked out that the theme of this album is basically about me leaving Louisiana and coming to Nashville and going from an amateur to a professional level and conquering the world on my own," Nugent says. And indeed the songs so closely reflect where she is and where she's going as a person that she might have written them herself.

The fact is, though, that this catalog of roads, forks, journeys, and arrivals was largely written by Jackson himself and a host of other well-known Nashville writers. The album kicks off with a song about the carefree time between one bad situation and another, when the world seems "Too Good To Be True" and, as Alecia confesses, "probably is." The lovely "God Knows What" depicts a woman leaving home and searching for a vague but tantalizing destiny. "When It Comes Down To Us," a long-planned duet with the remarkable Bradley Walker, investigates the precarious last throes of a relationship with eloquent pathos. "Breaking New Ground" updates a Wild Rose country hit with a lusty expression of renewal and freedom. Songs like the fascinating "You've Still Got It" and the decidedly country "Where His Wheels Left The Road" show off a range even Nugent wasn't sure she had. "These are the songs that reached out to me and reflect all the emotions felt when you are a woman, a mother, a daughter, and friend," she says by way of a simple explanation. "This album is me."

This is an oft repeated eye-roller in commercial country music, where radio and video are the most important venues and where artists are only really allowed to be themselves if that happens to mesh with the marketplace. Nugent has the advantage of working in the bluegrass universe where creativity mingled with excellence is generally rewarded with artistic freedom and high regard. Nugent has achieved both, but what follows should be interesting. She says she hopes to widen her appeal and bring her truthful, emotional sound to the mainstream, and with her genre-transcending appeal, it could easily work out that way.