Introducing… Morgan Myles

There’s a story behind “Whiskey Dreaming,” the soulful new single from the enchanting Morgan Myles. However, given her infectious personality and stunning good looks, one might not believe it.

“There’s a guy that I had been thinking of dating, and we had been talking every day. He lived in Ohio, and was coming back and forth to Nashville. All of a sudden, I found out that I was going to have to my ACL repaired again for the second time. It’s not necessarily a crazy surgery, but it is about eight months of recovery time, along with physical therapy. I wasn’t being super dramatic about it, but I was a little distraught.” When she needed her would-be suitor the most, the phone stopped ringing. “All of a sudden, I didn’t hear from him. Then, a few days later after the surgery, he calls about 3 in the morning,” she tells Sounds Like Nashville with a laugh. “I’ve been through a lot with family, but we always just come through with what needs to be done. When people don’t show me that, I just think ‘Bye.’ Don’t call someone who had surgery three days prior that is lying in bed having her bandages changed by her mom at three in the morning when I could finally get some sleep. I was so done.”

The single is the first from her new EP – Miss Morgan Myles, out now. She says that reaction has been strong for the new music, which obviously pleases the Pennsylvania native. “It gives me some affirmation that people are relating to me. You put something out there from your heart, and when people tell you they love it and understand it, it’s a great feeling. It’s been so surreal because it hasn’t really happened. I’m thinking ‘They actually really like this?’ It’s like being Cinderella. Fans really seem to be loving it, and that’s the true testament – not the suits. It’s the people that are buying the music or seeing the shows. When they can relate to you, you feel like you are doing something right.”

Music has always been a part of her life – going back to her earliest memories. “I remember that my mom had bought a piano as a whim. There was nobody musical in the family – she just wanted a piano in the house. Being the loving mom she is, she was so supportive, telling my dad that I can really play,” she says fondly. “I don’t know how true that was. Both of them just always supported me musically in whatever I wanted to do. They stayed with me, and looking back, it took a while for us to really figure everything out. My parents were high school sweethearts from Indiana. He worked at a veneer mill, and she was a pre-school teacher and travel agent. If I didn’t have them and their encouragement, I don’t think I would have continued to do it. They really pushed me, and still do.”

What does Myles remember listening to? “My very first CD was Wilson Phillips. Actually, that was a cassette,” she says with a smile. “My dad had two CD’s that he got when they first came out – Mariah Carey’s Music Box, and Jackson Browne. I ended up annoying the crap out of my sister with the Mariah one. I would sing ‘Without You’ all the time. Then, they bought me one of those giant boomboxes, and every ‘Diva’ that came out – from Celine Dion to Faith Hill, I had to have it. I eventually grew into what my guitar teacher was showing me – Aretha, Emmylou, and the Woodstock area. I really started to broaden after that. With that style, there are really no boundaries of what you’re feeling. The first song I ever learned on guitar was ‘Love Me Like A Man’ by Bonnie Raitt. I don’t know if I’ve sang it the same way twice, but that’s the beauty of the blues. When you put the blues together with country, there are some limitations with it, but you can make it cool and fresh. You want people to sing along with you, and make it memorable.”

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Myles recalled many trips to The Big Apple. “I would go back and forth between Williamsport and New York City – driving three hours to do a demo, drive home, and go to high school the next day. I ended up going to Berklee for a year in Boston, and I met Clay Bradley, who was the VP of A&R for Sony. He had me coming back and forth to see if I was ready. Then, I moved here a year later and transferred to Belmont and graduated from there.”

The music heard on Miss Morgan Myles encompasses a lot of styles and genres, something she says just comes naturally. “I think you can go about being an artist two ways – you can continuously chase what has already been done, or you can be true to yourself and be genuine and authentic, and hope to God that people will get you. I think at one point, I did try to chase things, but I didn’t know who I was. Everybody has their own journey. Take away music for a minute. We’re all trying to find ourselves. I think you have to do that with music too. I think that I have matured both as a person, but maturing musically comes with it. So, I’ve just remained who I am, and I think country has come around to accept my kind of music too.”

One of the highlights from the EP is the sizzling and seductive “Nobody Better Than You,” of which she says she had to write her part in second-person. “When we started writing that, I hadn’t been in a relationship in a while, and I was writing it with my producer. I said ‘We’ve got to go off of your relationship.’ Then, I started thinking about my sister, who is getting married in October, and my best friend, Caitlyn, who is in ‘mushy gushy’ love, so I have all these kinds of examples of soulmates. Then, I went back to my parents. When they started, they didn’t need money. They were just meant to be together. Those little things are what true love is. That’s what that song is about,” she says, adding that the song will likely be her next single.

Myles is currently in negotiations with a few labels in town, but she says regardless of how those go, she’s ready to hit the road. Already having opened for such iconic artists as Reba McEntire and Hank Williams, Jr., she’s ready to take her music to the masses. “I’m so excited about getting the music out there. I’m ready to go play. My booking agency has me on some cool dates opening for some big acts. I just want to take the music to the fans, and work as hard as I can. 2016 is going to be great.”

Fans can keep up with Myles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.