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" I think of myself as an interpretative singer and a songwriter. "

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" If we work on it, we can absolutely refuse any notion that suggests that after generations of contributing to this country, being a part of the bones and the marrow, that I'm supposed to be uncomfortable here. "

" What I learned about singing in the church has gone into what I do now. "

" I really just want an audience that is willing to let me live my life and share with them what I get out of my life. "

" I call myself a singer-songwriter influenced by the gospel and jazz tradition. Naturally, because of my lifestyle and love for nature, there's a lot of folk and Americana there because that's just my life. "

" As a southern woman, we often define ourselves by who we are with. But I wanted my life to be built differently. "

" I've begun to realize, as I'm getting older, that I was taught to go for a certain kind of stillness to get things done. I missed that in my life. I loved my grandmother's property, out in South Georgia right above the Florida line, so I just thought I'd find some property where I could feel that again. "

" I live just above a creek, and it's always very active. It almost sounds like the ocean. It's constant, and there's lots of big rocks in it, so it's got a great sound. It's one of my favorite things. "

" Where I fit genre-wise, it's hard to tell. It's a fickle wind. But I have to believe there's always going to be a place for the songs inside of me. "

" I love talking to other musicians on tour and finding out what we all have to do, not just as artists but as business people. A lot of us are investing and trying to use social media. It is such an interesting level of responsibility and engagement on all these levels. I don't know how one can do this without absolute commitment and faith. "

" I don't think words always lead to meaning, but the things you can create with them are still pretty amazing. I've been really into Joni Mitchell, for example, but I've also been into some studio stuff, like Bjork. "

" Singing in church is a very different approach to music. It's very much about transcending the idea of self. It's about finding something greater that connects all of us. Gospel music is about tapping into that. "

" Gardening is a working meditation for me. It helps me remember process, and it helps me remember patience. "

" The church is an institution of music and of production and performance, and it has to do with taking people to places inside of themselves and giving them an opportunity to sit deep in their own feelings, and to be together and deeply alone at the same time, and to process things. "

" Everyone I perform and tour with looks out for each other; we ensure we stay healthy. "

" I'm so grateful for just the inherent mercy of life. "

" It's very hard for me to place myself alongside another artist. Everyone has something unique to express. "

" Salif Keita's one of my favorite artists. "

" The women and the men are teachers and preachers in my family, and a little bit of both those fell on me. "

" Life is good. It might not go the way we plan it, but that's fine. We just do what we can. "

" By high school, I was putting the music for the services together and teaching Sunday school to everybody's kids. "

" At 16, I was going to church and playing music for church, and Dad would only pay for piano lessons so I could play at church. "

" I think, as singers and performers, we are ambassadors of the human experience. I don't want to get bored just talking about myself. "

" Jazz has a lot to do with being very present. You know the structure, then you flow through it. "

" I've always been genuinely interested in the spirit world. I've seen things I will never talk about because I'd be a fool to. You can't lay out that world in words. "

" I come from a lineage of ministers. "

" No matter what happens, I can go back to the mountains. I have nature and my wonderful friends and neighbors. I get so much by being there. "

" I am more prolific when I have something to respond to. I get my juice from people and real stories and things that seem common but are amazing. "

" I love singing all types of genres. "

" My father was very strict, a very militant parent, because he wanted us to be very focused kids. He sold the televisions, so we didn't watch TV. And he didn't want any music playing that wasn't gospel or inspirational music. In fact, he didn't even like a lot of gospel because he thought it was too bluesy. "

" Where I come from, music is not a business. Sharing music is a business, but music is not a business. It comes from the people and belongs to the people. "