If things had worked out as Lucy Isabel had originally planned, she would be firmly planted in New York right now, using the theater degree she got from Yale as a working actor. Instead, shortly after graduation, the New Jersey native left theater behind and moved to Nashville to become a touring singer/songwriter. She spends a lot of time on the road, which is partly why her new debut full-length album is called Rambling Stranger. A lot of the songs deal with Isabel traveling, or being in one place and thinking about another, playing music. There is adventure but also isolation in that life. To start her new life, Isabel and her now husband endured a long-distance relationship until her could join her in Nashville. The lyrics to “Lucky Stars” reflect that, as she sings, “I slept with my guitar in my arms last night/because I didn’t want to think I was alone with you not home.” Her theater degree taught her how to tell other people’s stories – now she is telling her own.

And Isabel is a fast learner. You can hear the progression in Isabel’s songwriting and performing from her two EPs, Along the Way and Kane, to the new album. The playing is more crisp, the imagery better defined and more evocative. I’m happy to have captured a couple of the songs as she played them in Boston at A Concert for Clean Water, a show sponsored by a local apparel company that donates some of their profits to efforts to clean up water supplies.

When I first started this podcast, I was hoping to feature more tracks like this, intimate live recordings done at the site of the interview. That didn’t work out as I’d hoped, so I’m glad to be able to present these to you. This is an edited mini-concert of sorts. I took three songs from the set – “Something New,” “How It Goes,” and “Don’t Ask Me Why” – because I felt they flowed well together. They go from a lighter touch to more of a rocker to “Don’t Ask Me Why,” which is a piano song on the album, played on acoustic guitar so you get to hear a different version of it here. Enjoy these three live renditions of songs from Rambling Strangers, and please do check out the studio album, as well. You can find Isabel on Facebook under @lucyisabelc, on Twitter under @lucyisabelmusic, and on her site at lucyisabelmusic.com.

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