Cece Coakley Wants You To Let Your Life Feel Good

“Everyone needs to get on a stage and be embarrassed one time in their life,” says Cece Coakley, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. “I cannot stress enough to anyone who goes to a concert. We see everything, we hear you say things. I know you're talking, and it's hurting my feelings.”

The Tennessee native released her debut EP Tender in 2022 after cultivating an online community. From sharing songs from her childhood bedroom to moving to Nashville and touring with artists like Medium Build, Stephen Sanchez, Field Guide and Ella Jane, Cece Coakley grew up a lot on tour.

“I was still in college when I first started touring,” she says. “I would play a sold out show opening for one of my favorite artists, and then I would be in the green room, like submitting an essay. It was very Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus core.” In some ways it was a fantasy. In other ways, it was a reality check. Touring wasn’t glamorous, she found, it was exhausting and sometimes even embarrassing. But getting the chance to share her music with the audiences makes the hard shows worth it — so does hearing what her songs mean to people.

Raised on female lyricists and coffee shop radio, Cece Coakley’s music is rooted in narrative songwriting tinged with nostalgia. She reflects on the past, on home, and worries about the future — don’t we all. But Coakley’s musings aren’t one-dimensional, they’re kaleidoscopic and welcoming, inviting the listener to see themselves in her life, without sparing the specifics.

Growing up in East Knoxville, she’s inspired by genre-defying female country artists like Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves as well as narrative folk indie singer-songwriters who pull from the world and create new ones. But she’s also inspired by classic country music, bringing in their emotion and soulful yearning.

No one is more surprised at this influence than Coakley, who says: “A lot of that classic country is so inspiring with the storytelling and the songwriting that I think I grew up hating living in the South for obvious reasons. But looking back, it inspired so much of my songwriting.”

But Coakley is carving her own path. She spoke to Popdust about her new music, being on the road, and resisting the urge to be unhappy. Indie-folk singers can be known for their melancholy, she understands, and mournful reflection has been her bread and butter. But Coakley is learning how to embrace good feelings and let them inspire her music, too.