Photo courtesy of Eryn Bent.

Eryn Bent is a singer-songwriter and Montana native who now is based in Albuquerque, NM. She is today’s featured Music Maker.

For my latest album, In the Gray, I took a completely alternate approach to my recording process, as opposed to the full-production, full-band album, Firefly, that was my debut release. In the Gray is a double disc, 31-song LIVE album that we only mixed, so it truly is in the roughest form possible, just in a studio setting. For me, it was a much more vulnerable process, as everything was live, start to finish, so it’s really full of pure emotion and unpolished grit. I love performing live much, MUCH more than going through a long recording process with a band—it’s in the moment, it’s raw and true.

Photo courtesy of Eryn Bent.

The shittiest show I ever played, I actually never got to play at all! I got to the venue, and the owners and workers were so intoxicated that they had decided not to open that day and had forgot I was coming. I drove about five hours to get to the venue to kick off the tour, and actually had people that asked about what had happened, as they came by and it appeared closed although my posters were all over the windows. They did pay and feed me, but I was disappointed I didn’t get to play at all. But what a great story, right?

Photo courtesy of Eryn Bent.

My last tour was the best I’ve had in the Pacific Northwest by far, but the first in which I had to cancel a gig due to a double booking/communication error between myself and the venue—really, they were quite gracious and offered me another date while I was there, but the last-minute scheduling hassle was a little stressful.

I saw fans at my first Seattle show that I knew from Santa Fe—and then again in Portland two days later. I was so surprised at first, and then SO touched. This was my fourth tour through the Pacific Northwest, and to see people from New Mexico in both Washington and Oregon was comforting and reassuring. I’m such a workaholic, and to see it pay off, even in the littlest of ways, is my fuel.

Photo courtesy of Eryn Bent.

I think the best show I ever played was my album release for Firefly, in Santa Fe, May 2014. I played with the nine-piece band, including Jono Manson, and the high I felt from the sound of such a full, rehearsed, talented group of people behind me has been the best experience yet.