There couldn’t have been a better title than ROUNDTRIP for the new album by Carrie Tillis.  After ten years of musical theater, singing with symphonies and opera companies, Carrie woke up one morning at the family farm and the genetic code that brands her a Tillis finally kicked in. 

“I woke up and ideas were everywhere.” Tillis says  “ . . . They wouldn’t quick coming, so I decided I better get a pen and start writing.”

What came out were songs- country songs.  Being the fifth child of country music legend Mel Tillis and younger sister to superstar Pam Tillis, that should be no surprise.  It just took her a little while to get back home to write them.  After growing up in Nashville, Carrie went further south to Birmingham, Alabama where she studied theatre and voice at Samford University.  While theater was no surprise to the family, Carrie singing opera was.   “That was a bit of a curve ball!”  she says, “but I found I had the vocal temperament for it, so I went for it.”

That decision led to the next ten years in a suitcase and some serious stage time at the family theatre in Branson, Missouri.  “Working with Dad is the best apprenticeship there is.”  But to Carrie, the big jump came when she moved to New York City, stepping out on her own to pursue her musical theatre career.

Carrie played the leading lady all over the country in classic musical roles, but it wouldn’t take long for the obvious Southern trend to start appearing in her theater credits.  Her authentic style and rich voice shone bright in shows like Keep On The Sunny Side, the story of the famed Carter Family and then as the iconic Tammy Wynette in Stand By Your Man, The Tammy Wynette Story.  It was in fact playing Tammy that became the backdrop for the 2008 release of Carrie’s cd ROUNDTRIP.

“After writing these songs and performing in such an authentic country show, it seemed like the perfect time to step up to the plate with the project.  I loved combining my own musical heritage with the show, and then the album- you just couldn’t come more full circle than that.  I wrote the songs over two years between Nashville and New York City and one day I looked at my plane ticket stubs and came up with ROUNDTRIP for the title.”

“The album is generically dubbed country, but it’s really shades all around that.” Tillis says.  And it’s kicked off with a bright, rockabilly-esque opener called New Town.  This song, along with the burning reminiscence of All About Your Memory, Tillis’ favorite, may be the closest in sound to mainstream radio in the collection.

Two downright bluegrass tunes make the ten song cut in Slidin’ In Sideways and They Say Jesus Was A Man.  Sideways is the barn burning autobiographical lyric about barely surviving with hope and help from family.  The other, a true bluegrass gospel that Tillis says was actually inspired one afternoon watching Jeopardy.

The bulk of ROUNDTRIP though is full tilt Americana in text and texture, vocals and melody.  Her writing is smart and clear, old school as well as contemporary.  Carrie likes to tell the story, set the emotion, and get out of the way.  Other than the longing, ‘let it ride’ instrumental on All About Your Memory and the simple and pure seeking intent on Looking For Hearts, the songs hover right at three minutes, sometimes less, proving Tillis’ writing doesn’t dilly dally.

Three gems not to be ignored on the album are Ancient and Misunderstood, sung by Tillis collaborator Larry Tobias, the broken One Glass Away, and the old school imprint of Timeless & Patience.  These are Tillis’ ballads, her troubadour references for love and loss that cut to the quick.

A favorite of many listeners is the sweet sentiment of Love Me While You’re At It- a duet between Carrie and Larry Tobias, the co writer of the song. Tobias delivers a stripped down aged vocal, mixing with Tillis’ sweet sound to provide the most charming blend.  Add to that the positive angle about life long, making it work kind of love, makes it one of the most appealing songs on the album. 

Tillis truly comes ROUNDTRIP with her calling card to the south on Southern Gal.  The song Carrie says should be on every southern city’s chamber of commerce video is a Dixie Land ditty sung one minute with a genteel wink and the next minute with plenty of southern sass.

From track one to ten, away from home and back again, ROUNDTRIP comes full circle in an honestly emotional, smart, and often uplifting way.  Never glossy but just true- the kind of music the latest Tillis is proud to put her name on.