Songwriting has been an escape for Heather Pillsbury. She hopes that her music can be an escape for listeners as well.
Pillsbury, who lives in Crawford, has released “Even More Than That” and “Strong and Steady” this year, two contemporary Christian songs that focus on discovering her faith and what it means to her.
“I definitely have a lot more songs in my pocket ready to be recorded,” Pillsbury said.
She found success in 2017, when she won the Gospel Music Association’s Artist/Writer of the Year for her song “Walked on Water” at the annual Immerse Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Despite her passion for songwriting, Pillsbury decided to take a hiatus from the industry from 2020-22. She felt as though she missed out on opportunities because she didn’t fit the “aesthetic” of the Christian music scene in Nashville, where she recorded her music.
“They kind of look for a certain type of person, and that really wasn’t me,” said Pillsbury, who is married to Nathan and has two kids, Oliver (8 years old) and Violet (4). “I’m like a mom from Georgia, I don’t really fit the kind of cool aesthetics of a cool songwriter.”
Although she put her songwriting career on pause, she was able to influence the future generation of musicians through her job as the music teacher at Athens Christian School the past nine years. Last year, Pillsbury decided to take a leap of faith and quit her job to devote her time to writing more songs.
“She was really good at what she did in the classroom and she really cared a lot about it,” said former student Sydney Prince, who now teaches music at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School.
Recently, Pillsbury participated in the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” with Arts!Oglethorpe. Director Penny Miller was brought to tears during her audition.
“She is professional, she is hard working, she is incredibly dedicated,” Miller said.
Pillsbury also sings for The Jefferson Church and travels to Nashville on occasion to record with producer Andrew Barlow.
“She really knows what she wants,” he said.
Pillsbury started writing songs about 20 years ago as a way to voice her thoughts and prayers. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in music with a concentration in voice at Truett McConnell University.
“It probably started out more as like journaling,” Pillsbury said. “It was a way for me to get thoughts out, or even prayers, but mostly whatever I was going through as a 15-year-old trying to just get big feelings out.”
Inspired by the conversations in her life, Pillsbury turns words from her pastor or friends into songs. She is able to deal with “heavy emotions” through her songwriting.
“I think music in general is so important, and then songwriting specifically,” Pillsbury said. “A lot of times, people hear a song on the radio, and you’re like, ‘Man, that really resonates with me personally.’ I think songwriting is a chance for me to kind of do that on the front end.”
She hopes her songs can inspire and help listeners heal from whatever they are going through, just like she does.
“It’s kind of like a way to reclaim and heal certain things or deal with certain things through song,” Pillsbury said, “and in doing so you might be able to help someone else that might be going through the same thing.”
Listen
You can listen to Heather Pillsbury at heatherpillsbury.com, which includes links to her music on streaming services and social media accounts.