Denitia
Denitia kicks off her new album Sunset Drive with a sparkling pedal-steel riff before launching us on a 12-song cruise through the byways of roots music. The album incorporates the singer-songwriter’s winding journey from Texas to Nashville, New York City, the Hudson Valley, and back to Music City with a wide array of sounds that pull from indie rock, folk and, of course, country.
In the fall, she’ll be joining country great Mickey Guyton on tour. A breakout set coupled with a meet-and-greet at CMA Fest helped cement Denitia’s country bona fides (for any doubters remaining after she was named a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2024). And just a few weeks after CMA Fest, there was also her Grand Ole Opry debut.
“Man, the Opry was incredible,” says Denitia. “It was an honor to be allowed to stand in that circle and be a part of the legacy of country music.”
Denitia can’t remember a time when she wasn’t surrounded by music — especially country. She grew up an hour outside of Houston and spent plenty of time in the car with a listening diet of Smokey Robinson, Al Green and ’90s country. She picked up a guitar in high school, inspired by the likes of Reba and George Strait, and found her way to R&B and rap.
“From there, my taste just became so eclectic,” she recalls. “I started absorbing all different kinds of music. My discography has really run the gamut of different genres and different formats.”
That sense of exploration is evident on Sunset Drive. “Don’t Let Me Go” is as much inspired by ’90s R&B group harmonies as it is by the sharp percussion and tempo changes of indie-rock in the 2000s. Of course, the catchy pop groove and pedal steel of “I Won’t Look Back” proclaim the triumphs of “two cowgirls in luck” — a cheerful upending of classic country sounds and lyrical content.
“My aim with this record is to take my conception of country music and let it flow from there,” she says. “But it all’s got to have pedal steel on it.”
Denitia crafted the album with her “co-conspirator” and longtime songwriting partner Brad Allen Williams, who tours with Brittany Howard. A few months after Denitia settled back in Nashville, the pair crafted an album that captures Denitia’s ambivalence about leaving behind the people and beauty of the Hudson Valley. In spite of saying goodbye to a place she loved, Denitia feels more rooted than ever before. Sunset Drive helped her get there.
“I’m just going to keep following my intuition,” she says. “I’m getting more ruthless with my work. If it doesn’t give me chills, then we got to keep it moving.”
Although Denitia follows those instincts using every musical tool at hand, she plans to dig more deeply into the trad-country prowess she displays on the working-class anthem “Gettin’ Over.”
“I’ve actually found a lot of liberation in discovering my identity as a country singer,” says Denitia. “It’s like the confines of the genre have actually been freeing — because I can do every type of music possible, and finding this smaller space to zoom in on has been so fun to me.”
The vinyl has barely had time to cool on copies of Sunset Drive, but she is already planning her next project: a trad-country album that tells the story of her family and her own past. One thing that’s encouraged Denitia to take on work like this is that, since returning to Nashville, she has been embraced by many communities, including Black Opry.
“I’ve made some really great friends,” she says. “I moved back to Nashville because I knew that some of those artists lived here and that they were working and making music here. What’s so cool about [Black Opry] is that you have a group of passionate and talented individuals who are just continuing to create art and it makes the group better.”
As a member of the 2023-24 cohort of Mtheory’s Equal Access Development Program, Denitia learned the often-opaque workings of mainstream country.
“I came to them with a vision, and then they helped me get there,” Denitia explains. “It’s really hard to do it all by yourself. I come from the DIY ethos, but having that support from them was really impactful.”
Fellow Equal Access member Chris Housman will warm up the crowd at Denitia’s album release party Friday at The Basement. It’s a full-circle moment for Denitia, who cut her teeth years ago at the venerable venue’s long-running New Faces Night showcase, known for showcasing a wide array of styles of music. She loves the diversity of fans her music continues to draw into her world; if they come for country and Americana, they’ll get indie rock and some R&B too. The eclectic nature of her sound is part of her mission to claim space as more and more conversations about country recognize and celebrate the long-standing contributions of Black artists.
“Black folks have been involved in country music since day one, and it hasn’t stopped. There are Black folks who listen to country music and love it and cherish it, and then also there are so many Black artists that are making it now.”
