According to country artist Sarah Pierce’s website, Pierce is the daughter of a cowboy, and was raised in a family of cattlemen. She was born in Rockford, Illinois and raised in rural West Texas. In the 6th grade she was kicked out of the children’s choir because she sang too low. And Pierce has also toured hundreds of thousands of miles - both domestic and foreign - receiving rave reviews at fairs, festivals, conventions, and concert dates from New York City to Los Angeles and Northern British Columbia to San Antonio, France, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia. In a recent email interview Pierce talks about her new release “Blessed by the West,” and her musical memories.

Jupiter Index: What was your earliest memory of music as a child?
Sarah Pierce: I am not sure if I remember the event or the photos, but, when I was 2 years old, Ella Fitzgerald played at my grandfathers club outside Chicago called The Gold Room. They stood me up on the table and Ella sang Hello Dolly to me. Then, I am sure that I remember, my cowboy Dad singing along with the radio in the barn. I don't think he was a good singer but it made us both laugh.

JI: Do you recall the songs you heard? (And what were there?)
SP: Well, Rose Garden sung by Lynn Anderson, was what my dad sang with the most. Then all of the country legends from Patsy to Barbara Mandrell and of course Willy [Nelson], Ray Stevens, Charlie Pride, and the western artists like Marty Robbins, on and on. These people could sing. No pitch correction just great singers.

JI: Was it that period that drew you to sing and play music?
SP: It did. I thought I was playing piano, like kids do. Same with the guitar. I sang in the barn after being thrown out of the 5th grade choir because I sang like a boy. It took a lot to sing in public again. When I was a teenager and my step father asked me to sing a song at one of his gigs. That started the live performing for me.

JI: What was the recording process like for you on this record?
SP: Same as always. Merel Bregante produces darn good records and some I believe are great. So, I bring him songs, we find arrangements, do all the pre-production and then we record. We try to give each song what it needs and then let it take form. Merel is amazing at this!

JI: Talk about how the song "The Librarian" came about on your current release?
SP: The Librarian is part of a trilogy. The Librarian, The Messenger, and Rough Stock. All of these songs are based on women of the late 1800s and early 1900s that had jobs in which they would give their lives for on any given day. The Librarians carried books to families that had no schools or schools had closed. They saddled a mule or horse with saddlebags full of books, a gun, and canteen for hundreds of miles at a time. Surviving severe weather, wolves, and bandits to get to their destination.Just to read to a child.

JI: You are touring now in the fall, but will be performing at the International Western Music Association. Can you talk about what your hopes are for it?
SP: We have quite a few shows! Yes, I am grateful to be performing at The IWMA. This is a wonderful organization across the US keeping western music, poetry, and the western way of life alive. I am honored to be a part. I love the west.

JI: Would you like to add anything else about your music?
SP: I hope that you like it! Thank you so much for your time.

by G.M. Burns