Roxie Randle continues to bring adult contemporary to winery

By Chase Myers

Building a musical foundation happens often at an early age, whether through a childhood epiphany or a musical interest passed down from family or friends.

Growing up in the eastern Illinois farm town of Hutsonville, country-pop/rock artist Roxie Randle obtained her musical spark as a child with influences from her parents’ musical inclination.

During her childhood, Randle’s parents were in a southern rock band, which contributed to her interest in pursuing music, she said.

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“If I was born to a professional athlete and a school teacher or something … I would have had totally different influences in my life, but it definitely played a part just in giving me an outlet,” she said.

She said she also took influence from her experiences living in a farm town mixed with music on the radio, including ‘80s pop band Fleetwood Mac and more recent artists like Norah Jones.

“I moved to Nashville because I thought I was a country singer and after I got here I kind of realized that that was only part of my voice,” she said. “But, growing up in a farming community definitely made country the first and foremost influence. Country and contemporary Christian too.”

After graduating from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., she made a relaxed move to Nashville, Tenn., in 2001, she said.

She moved with an anxiety-free approach and knowledge that her career would not be handed to her instantly, she said.

“I fell into the singer-songwriter community pretty easily,” she said.

After moving, she released her critically acclaimed 2006 debut album “Live at The French Quarter Cafe,” along with a laid back follow-up, “Something Real,” in 2008.

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She released an EP in 2012 titled, “Little Victory,” followed by a set of singles in 2013, which embody her range of influences and contemporary sound.

“I officially released [Little Victory] as an adult contemporary EP because it is not straight-ahead pop or rock production wise and it’s not a country production,” she said.

Randle will be performing at 2 p.m. Saturday at Blue Sky Vineyard.

Randle said her performance history at Carbondale area wineries began about four years ago as a suggestion from a friend. She typically does a circuit through the area about once a month with a weekend’s worth of shows.

“I’ve played bars and stuff too … but wineries are some of my favorite venues to play at because the crowd is mellow, they listen, they tip well and most of all they are usually open to original music,” she said. “People in southern Illinois are in general, great, musically receptive people.”

With 2014 coming to a close, Randle is continuing to write, saving funds and conceptualizing a possible full-length album for next year.

“The big challenge in releasing something is the money that it takes to do it,” she said. “I’m starting to think about it now and then over the course of probably the next six months I’ll be saving up to do that.”

Randle said she will be also be funding her future project with the release of t-shirt merchandise in 2015.

Randle plans to continue performing future shows and tours in spurts of no more than a couple weeks, allowing her to balance her music and spending time with loved ones.

“That’s my way of kind of balancing everything,” she said. “I love my people and animals that make my life happy.”

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