I always appreciate those artists who gave me a chance way back when I had little experience or reputation to rely on. Emily Hackett is one of the artists I featured back in 2018, and I am privileged to continue championing her projects.
Hackett is the rare songwriter who doesn’t just pour her heart into her lyrics—she inspires every listener to reach a deeper honesty in their own lives. With her debut full-length album, Must Be Present to Win, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter crafts a deeply personal body of work about learning to live in the moment, even when your mind is stuck somewhere between what was and what might be.
Her music has been featured on Spotify and Apple Playlists like Fresh Finds, Fresh Folk, Today’s Singer-Songwriters, Chill Singer-Songwriter, Folk-Pop, Morning Commute, Morning Coffee, and more. She was also a finalist in Nashville's Lightning 100’s Music City Mayhem.
When you listen to "Must Be Present to Win" from beginning to end, you will feel as if you are reading someone's personal diary, with thoughts that maybe weren't meant to be shared. But now that the singer-songwriter is a mom, she says it has "changed everything."
Being an artist and a mom comes down to time management. Hackett stated, "This record is really about time and my obsession with it and my lack of understanding of it. Now that I have a kid, I haven't come any closer to understanding it. I only have less of it to work with."
The music industry does not make it easy to navigate motherhood alongside a career. Hackett has learned to prioritize her time, herself, and her sanity. "I'm finally stepping into a space where I can find gratitude for it all. The record talks about so many of these things and is about learning what it means to be present, while having gratitude and acceptance and all these things," she shared.
The first song on the album, "Cherry," bloomed in a season of doubt. It’s a love letter to one’s patience, serenading it to unlearn patterns of disbelief. A soul-sized pep talk, rooted in friendship and faith—a reminder that the magic isn’t out there, it’s already in us.
"The Comedown" was inspired by a conversation with her sister the day after her wedding. You spend all this time planning for something, and in an instant, it's over. The fear of the comedown is real, and everyone experiences it at some point in their lives. Hackett explores the lows that follow the highs in "The Comedown.”
Hackett acknowledges her unrealistic high expectations in the vulnerable track, "Me and My," and then tackles postpartum depression in "Beyond Blue." She said, "It was a hard song to share because I love my son so much."
The indie-pop songwriter confronts her own immortality in "Countdown." In her early 30s, she is still wondering what she should be accomplishing before she dies. She confronts everyone's obsession with time. However, "everyone dies," the song solemnly states.
"Time Machine" is a song she wrote for her producer husband, Mikey Reeves, that tells their story. If you are familiar with her smash hit, "Take My Hand (The Wedding Song)," you're going to like this honest chronicle of hers and Mikey's life.
Hackett touches on the past with her tune, "When You Stop By." The song is about a friend who died more than ten years ago, but still visits her in her dreams. "Losing someone is always hard, but as long as they're in your dreams, your mind, they're never gone, " she asserted.
One of the most meaningful songs on the record is "Crowded Room." With the words It’s a crowded room/ Filled with hope and heartbreak/ It gets hard to move/ Without coming face to face/ With the versions of you/ That you once knew/ Still trying to find their place/ Just trying to make some space/ In a crowded room, it speaks of all the voices in your head trying to tell you who you are.
One thing music does is help us feel less alone. When we have questions and concerns, we don't necessarily need answers; we want to know that we aren't the only ones feeling that way. Hackett concluded, "I'm telling my story. And I hope that by (you) choosing to be a listener, it can ping something in your soul."
Emily Hackett's Must Be Present to Win is one of the bravest, most vulnerable albums I have come across. As she addresses the themes of the passage of time and internal and external expectations, she is sure to strike a chord with those who encounter her music.
If you live in the Nashville area, you can join Hackett at her Album Release Show on Sunday, June 28th.
You can follow Emily Hackett on her website, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and TikTok.
Must Be Present to Win Track list
- Cherry
- Coming Down
- Me and My
- Time Machine
- Beyond Blue
- Butter
- Countdown
- Crowded Room
- The Steps
- Validation
- When You Stop By