Podcast Summary: Classic Replay – Music Saved Me with Singer-Songwriter Holly Lovell

Podcast: takin' a walk – Music History on Foot
Host: Buzz Knight reference, guest host Lynne Hoffman
Guest: Holly Lovell
Date: October 26, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the “takin’ a walk” podcast features an intimate conversation between Lynne Hoffman and Australian-American indie folk artist Holly Lovell. Lovell’s new album “Hello Chelsea” forms the backdrop for an exploration into music’s profound healing power, personal grief, family history, the magic of live recording, and the bittersweet inspiration that New York City can provide. The conversation is candid and deeply emotional, focusing on music as a vehicle for self-discovery, processing trauma, and connecting with listeners experiencing parallel struggles.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early Musical Influences and Emotional Connection

[03:16]

• Holly credits her mother as her earliest influence, describing how her mom’s moods were expressed through the music played around the house.
• Strong formative inspirations:
  • Patty Griffin: Praised for her raw emotional honesty and letting her vulnerability show (“lets her voice break a little in like what sometimes would be considered like an ugly way. But when you know what emotion is conveying, it’s like beautiful.” – Holly Lovell, [03:44]).
• Other early influences: Missy Higgins (noted for her emotional honesty during Holly’s adolescence in Australia), Counting Crows, and pianist George Winston when “sometimes you don’t need words.”

2. Music as Healing & Coping Mechanism

[05:18] – [06:49]

• Holly discusses how songwriting and music creation fuel her healing process, more so than passive listening:
  • “The healing power of music for me is really in writing…because then I get my whole body involved and I can write and I can feel.” ([05:30])
• She shares a moving example: after losing her uncle (the inspiration for much of "Hello Chelsea"), she found comfort in Donovan Woods’ “Our Friend Bobby,” which felt as if it captured her own heartbreak:
  • “…it felt like he was writing the song about my heartbreak…those moments where it’s not like it healed me, but it understood me.” ([06:16])

3. Music as Anchor Through Upheaval

[07:00]

• Holly recounts her move from the US to Australia at age 12 and how music served as a constant when everything else changed.
• She vividly describes the relief and sense of identity when her long-missing CD collection finally arrived:
  • “I remember the feeling when…my CD player and my CD collection showed up…it was like, you know, grounded. And again, I’m myself again.” ([07:38])

4. The Making of “Hello Chelsea” – Recording Old-School

[08:13] – [10:52]

• “Hello Chelsea” draws deeply from Lovell’s family history, particularly the loss of her uncle to addiction.
• A notable creative choice: Holly and her producer, Brian Joseph, recorded the album with the musicians together, live in-studio, reminiscent of 1970s’ methods:
  • “Being in a room with other people and recording in that way isn’t something you can really put your finger on, but I certainly think you can feel it over time.” ([09:09])
  • The time crunch forced a focus and energy: “…if we’re gonna get this done, we’re kind of just gonna have to go for it…we are all gonna just play at the same time. Just make it happen.” ([09:51])
• Holly emphasizes that performing and singing emotionally in the moment cannot be recreated by isolated overdubs:
  • “When I’m playing my instrument and singing, and I’m really in the lyric emotionally…that’s really hard to recapture.” ([10:26])

5. Vulnerability, Grief, and Listener Connection

[10:52] – [12:47]

• Holly reflects on how listeners connecting with “Hello Chelsea’s” themes of loss and addiction is powerful, but heavy:
  • “When somebody tells me something like that, I just don’t quite believe them…that’s an honor.”
  • “When somebody connects to something like that…you’re already in totally different territory.” ([12:36])
  • She is learning to “hold for other people” as her deeply personal work resonates with fans experiencing similar pain.

6. New York City – The Double-Edged Inspiration

[13:13] – [16:22]

• Lovell discusses her love/hate relationship with NYC, both as a symbol of promise and a source of profound family pain:
  • “There is an element of promise there…But when you’re there long enough…you just start to get that disappointed feeling that the city also has.” ([14:36])
  • On her uncle’s journey and decline in NYC: “I just couldn’t help but feel like it was the city that did this to him. And I saw the underside underbelly of the city so much…” ([14:23])
• Her song “Hello Chelsea” encapsulates that tension:
  • “The chorus is, ‘I’ve got to get out of New York City. I used to love it, but now it kills me.’…that’s exactly how I feel. I love the city with everything I have. And also…I cannot stay here.” ([15:41])
• New York, for Holly, is both a maker and breaker: “Just to persevere in New York City, I think is success. Even if you leave, you’re made there.” ([16:05] – Host Lynne Hoffman)

7. Closing Thoughts on the Mysteries of Healing Through Music

[16:36]

• Holly hopes her music “finds the right ears” and thanks the show for exploring “the healing power of music and lyricism and just that mystery that it is…to get into the places where others can’t get in and unlock something.”
  • Host responds: “Wow. That was almost a song in and of itself.” ([16:54])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Music unlocks something in you that then allows you to go and do the work of it.” – Holly Lovell ([05:30])
• “Those moments where…it’s not like it healed me, but it understood me. It saw me in a place where I didn’t feel like anybody saw me.” – Holly Lovell on Donovan Woods’ “Our Friend Bobby” ([06:16])
• “All these artists that I love so much…the more I would learn about their records, there would be that through line of like…they recorded it all in the same room…they did it live at the same time. And I started to just feel like there’s something there.” – Holly Lovell ([09:09])
• “When somebody connects to something like that… you’re just like, so sorry that that’s you, you know?” – Holly Lovell on connecting over family addiction and loss ([12:36])
• On New York City:
  • “All I feel is like possibility…and then when I looked back on this whole thing, I was like, oh, I can see what [my grandma] was feeling there. And they exist at the same time…the undercurrent of disappointment and…it’s a really strange place to be.” ([14:37])
  • “I’ve got to get out of New York City. I used to love it, but now it kills me.” ([15:41])

Segment Timestamps

| Time | Topic | |:-------------:|:-----------------------------------------------| | 03:16 | Early emotional bonds with music/her mom | | 04:14 | Artists and songs that “came to her rescue” | | 05:18 | Belief in music’s healing powers | | 05:30 | Writing music as a path to healing | | 06:16 | Grief, loss of her uncle, and “Our Friend Bobby”| | 07:00 | Music during her move to Australia | | 08:13 | “Hello Chelsea” – family history & recording | | 09:09 | Recording live with band – old school approach | | 10:26 | Emotional performance versus overdubbing | | 10:52 | Being vulnerable, listener connections | | 13:41 | Love/hate with NYC – personal/family context | | 15:41 | “Hello Chelsea” and other NYC musicians relate | | 16:36 | Closing reflections on music’s healing mystery |

Tone and Style

The tone throughout is warm, open, and introspective. Holly Lovell is earnest and articulate, while Lynne Hoffman guides the conversation with empathy and appreciation for Holly’s artistry and candor. The dialogue is respectful and thoughtful, providing insight into Holly’s process and the universality of music in our hardest moments.

This episode is recommended for anyone interested in the interplay of music, grief, mental health, vulnerability in artistry, and the complicated relationship between place and identity.