Vanessa Lively - Uncovering Stones

For a woman who trives on jumping into the unknown with both feet, Vanessa Lively took an unusual approach to her new album, Uncovering Stones. She and her producer-husband, Jason, planned nearly every note before recording it - which they did in their Austin home, with co-producer Keith Gary.The result is a compelling mix of tempos and styles filled with hints of urban, world, Latin, funk and pop that fully captures her compassionate nature and love of community.Uncovering Stones is, in fact, all about connecting. Vanessa even painted the album art beforehand - on 42 canvas squares she sold individually to fund the 12-song disc. Lively describes its themes as feeling other people's struggles and joys and being connected with them. After raking blueberries in Maine as a migrant farm worker and living in South America with her husband to do volunteer work in impoverished areas she feels those connections deeply - and when you listen, you will, too.