Free at Noon Flashback: Michaela Anne brings a life full of travels to World Cafe Live

Michaela Anne stopped by the Lounge at World Cafe Live on her radio tour of the northeast today to share songs from her new album, Desert Dove. Like many country artists, Michaela Anne lives in Nashville now, after studying music and spending a decade in New York City. But it’s her nomadic upbringing with her military family that inspires her songwriting the most (and, as the singer-songwriter joked, has inspired a lot of therapy, too).

On Desert Dove, Michaela Anne takes a leap forward with evocative songwriting that captures her love for storytelling. Backed by a four-piece band, she opened today’s set with “One Heart,” before moving through a selection of the album’s country and Americana inspired songs. On “Child of the Wind” Michaela Anne describes that life full of travels, “Two Fools” and “I’m Not the Fire mix love and frustration, while Desert Dove‘s title track finds inspiration in the people she’s met on the road.

Before closing with the lively “Run Away With Me,” Michaela Anne played the stirring album single “By Our Design,” which she said she wrote about the importance of choosing your own path — pursuing music, in her case — even if it doesn’t make sense to everyone in your life. After she was off the air, Michaela Anne stayed on stage for a solo encore, treating the audience to a new song that she hasn’t yet recorded, and stuck around in the lobby to greet fans.

Desert Dove is out now and Michaela Anne returns to Philadelphia to play MilkBoy on December 18. Find tickets and more information on the XPN Concert Calendar.

Setlist
One Heart
Child of the Wind
I’m Not the Fire
Two Fools
Desert Dove
By Our Design
Run Away With Me
Somebody New