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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk I'm Buzz Knight and welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast. Today we are revisiting our top episodes from 2025 and this one is a conversation that resonated deeply with music lovers everywhere, including me. It Originally aired on October 10, 2025. It features the extraordinary Grammy nominated singer songwriter Maggie Rose, an artist who understands that while no one gets out of this alive, we can certainly make the journey beautiful along the way. She was fresh off the release of her critically acclaimed 2024 album no One Gets Out Alive, which Rolling Stone hailed as one of the best albums of the year. And Maggie joined us to discuss her stunning new EP Cocoon, featuring her powerful collaboration with Grace Potter on Poison in my well, I can't wait for you to hear once again or for the first time, number four on the top five of 2025 with Maggie Rose coming up next.
Maggie Rose
This is an I heart podcast Guaranteed.
Buzz Knight
Human this episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to to the world's most captivating destinations. When I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I get eight times points on all the purchases I make through Chase Travel and even access to one of a kind experiences like music festivals and sports events. And that's not even mentioning how the card gets me into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide. No matter where I'm walking, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve the discover more@chase.com Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.
Maggie Rose
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Buzz Knight
Boom.
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Maggie Rose
Oh yeah.
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Maggie Rose
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Maggie Rose
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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk Maggie, welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast. I'm so happy to have you.
Maggie Rose
I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
Buzz Knight
So the. The opening volley we like to bring out is the question.
Maggie Rose
I know it's coming.
Buzz Knight
You do, don't you? The question being if you could take a walk with somebody. I'm blushing now. You see, if you could take a walk with somebody, living or dead, who would you take a walk with? And maybe where would you take that walk?
Maggie Rose
Okay, I'm going to cheat because I have to say two people. Paul McCartney, because he's the greatest, and I want to hear all the stories about those early days and the Caverns, but I also want his take on where music is today. And if I can be so greedy, I have to also say Abraham Lincoln because he was one of our greatest presidents during such incredibly divisive time. And I would want to know what he would think about today and how he would navigate today.
Buzz Knight
That's awesome. I just recorded a future episode yesterday with Eric from the band Mid Lake, and he said Abraham Lincoln, and he was talking himself out of it a bit at first, and I said, wait a minute. You know, he's. He's one of the guys, right? He's like, he's one of the guys.
Maggie Rose
Yeah. Like, absolutely paramount to our history. People kind of chuckle when I say that because they think that as a musician, you sort of need to default to another musician. But, you know, I'd also work very hard to make Abraham Lincoln a fan of my music. That would be a cool accomplishment to have. But yeah, I mean, I think that those really were unprecedented times. And how did he turn down the temperature? And how could. How could he possibly unite our country today?
Buzz Knight
Yeah. What could we learn from our past.
Maggie Rose
You know, and what would he think about where we've arrived? I mean, I'm sure that might be a kind of brutal criticism from him to see where we've come, but I think that it would just be eye opening to have some perspective from someone who was able to find some sort of solution during a time where it felt impossible.
Buzz Knight
And Paul McCartney would then set us straight down industry wise, where things are absolutely heading. One of the things I love about all of your music, the new song, Sting, Cocoon, the ep, and certainly your great career, is the fact that you touch many different genres. You. You like bending, bending the rules a bit over your career. What inspired you to always think that way?
Maggie Rose
I think it's less about bending the rules and not really regarding rules. Trying to kind of serve each song with the sonic arrangement that it needs. And I like to explore my capabilities and continue examining myself as an artist. I think that just naturally brings me to these different. These different soundscapes. And I'm very collaborative, so I know that that also lends itself to some of the different sounds that you hear is just all the different people I work with.
Buzz Knight
And you were a fan favorite at Americana Fest recently. It sounds like you had multiple great experiences. Do you want to talk about the one with the. The symphony in particular?
Maggie Rose
Yes. It was surreal. So on my last album, no One Gets Out Alive, I had a lot of these really great orchestral arrangements, and we actually used a symphony in Macedonia for the recording. This was something that sort of came out of the pandemic, where these incredible symphonies were able to remotely record scores for films and arrangements for albums like my own. So this is the first time that I actually got to realize that kind of presentation with an actual ensemble behind me. It was 70 people, so that was daunting because that's a big train, and once it's moving, there's no stopping it. There's no improvising. So that part was nerve wracking, but it just was. I just got totally swept up in the experience. And it felt like one of those moments where there aren't many, but where you get there and you're like, okay, this is kind of that touch point of all this work that I've been doing over the last couple years to be able to play this music with these musicians who've dedicated their lives to their craft and just talk about collaborative experience. It was like everybody together helping carry these songs through. And something happened right before I hit the stage where I was able to consciously slow my brain down. And be like, please enjoy this. And don't let the sensory overload just make it go by so quickly. And I was able to really settle in and enjoy the night. And just that concert hall in Nashville, it's so beautiful. And all the people that contributed to this record, so many of them were there, and it just felt like a big celebration. And I hope it's the first of many. Now that we have these arrangements, I know there's symphonies all over the world that I'd love to recreate that night with.
Buzz Knight
I got chills. That's awesome. That's fantastic.
Maggie Rose
I got chills, too. It was really very, very special.
Buzz Knight
I want to talk about the 2024 album, no One Gets Out Alive. It certainly has a haunting title. What was your headspace as you were in the midst of that project and that creation?
Maggie Rose
I kind of felt like I had nothing to lose. I wrote that song with Natalie Humby and Sunny Sweeney, and it was after I lost people close to me. I had people that passed away. I had friendships that didn't sustain the pandemic and all the stress of that. And I just felt like life is too short and it should be celebrated and we should create things that are beautiful. And I kind of took that approach to the production as well. Like, these were big arrangements, and we swung for the fences, and I tried to put together, like, the best band that I could put together in the studio, and I just really. I went for it, I suppose. And it's a lot about life and all of its wonder and, you know, how different events affect our perception of the passage of time, and it's about gratitude. And I think I just was at a place in my life where it was just so, like, incredibly palpable. And all the joy and sorrow just felt like a really creative moment, I think, for me.
Buzz Knight
And then moving into Cocoon, you have your son, Graham, your new young lad. How much did motherhood influence this metaphor of sort of transformation and emergence?
Maggie Rose
I think it was also about insulation, too, like protecting myself during this time of physical creation and also just musical creation. I wanted to have this snapshot of these collections of songs during this really special time in my life. And it also was about growth and all the beautiful things about it, but also the sharper edges of it and how, you know, not everyone wants to grow at the same rate as you. Not everyone wants to go with you to this new place that you're going. And emergence is worthwhile, but you shed some things on your way to that next phase as well. So I think it was a lot of it about anticipation, letting go of things that I didn't need to bring with me in this new chapter as a mother, unburdening myself of some resentment. And also there's songs about hope that I want to impart that idea on Graham and show him that there is a world where hope is very much alive.
Buzz Knight
You collaborated on Cocoon with this. This gentle flower who needs to come out of her shell by the name of Grace Potter.
Maggie Rose
I know. She's such a wallflower. She's so shy. I loved Yalls episode, by the way. She's. She's such a great person. The song is about, you know, not necessarily being able to support someone else and their successes. And she. The antithesis of that. She's so supportive and like, her Vermont community benefits from that, but also her creative community. She's always lifting people up. And I shared this music with her after it was done because I wanted her to hear it and I wanted her feedback on it, but really I was angling to get her to jump on this song with me, and she. Just. The way she is. She said yes on the spot when I asked her over the phone. And her husband, Eric Valentine, is an incredible producer and engineer. So the two of them, I think that night went and put Grace's part on Poison in My well, and she sent it back the next day. And I just was like, this is surreal and an example of like, ask for what you want and you might get it. And we certainly did with what she contributed to that song.
Buzz Knight
It's so great. I love it. Poison in My well. And thanks for your nice words on having Grace on. She makes it very easy to. To roll with the flow because she's got such amazing energy and. And focus and.
Maggie Rose
And I love going on walks with her. I mean, just. She is. She's so generous with just her. Her thoughts, her takes on what's going on, and she'll just sit in it with you and kind of, you know, she. There's not an agenda. She's trying to figure it all out and work through it with people.
Buzz Knight
Can you remember the first time in your life that you were impacted by music?
Maggie Rose
Yes. I mean, I was very young and I actually think it was because I always loved to sing around the house and I loved to perform for my parents, friends, and they'd come over for dinner. Like, I just was a bit of a showboat in that way. But I think what impacted me was seeing this group of adults all of a sudden fall silent and pay attention and gather together just to like commune in music. I think sitting the power of that and the community that it brings at such an early age was pretty impactful to me and there were some pretty cool opportunities as a very young person to sing with other people in choirs and just kind of getting to learn from that. And also my parents played great music around the house too. Like my mom would just be like, what do you think about this song? She'd play like the Judds and Mary Chapin Carpenter and talk about their songwriting and it just was like a very.
Buzz Knight
Alive in my house and very diverse musically. Which leads to your diverse musical approach. Certainly there was a pop side. You grew up outside of dc, right?
Maggie Rose
That's right, yeah. And also the divas were just like abound when I was growing up. I feel like more so than now, it's just like the female singer was everywhere in every genre, really celebrated and I think that definitely shaped my inclination to want to sing and belt it out like them.
Buzz Knight
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk podcast.
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Maggie Rose
And the talent is unreal.
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Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball season two, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you for your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures.
Maggie Rose
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Buzz Knight
This episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. Travel is one of the most precious things in my life and the memories of each of the experiences live on forever. Chase Sapphire Reserve allows me to travel with ease with a $300 travel credit and access to a curated collection of hotels through the edit. So no matter where I'm walking, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Discover more with Chase Sapphire Reserve@chase.com SapphireReserve cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast. How much since you moved to Nashville quite a few years ago, has Nashville changed?
Maggie Rose
It's a totally different town in my opinion, but I've also found a different Nashville myself, personally, I think in the creative community that I have around me. You know, when I moved here in 2008, I was releasing commercial country music. I was doing the country radio thing and, you know, being dragged around the country doing radio tours trying to get that One song played on that station, and I feel like I would put a whole year of my life into promoting this one song when, you know, we have multitudes within us. And just the template didn't really work for me, and I think that forced me to explore my sound, and that's when the soul started to come out. And my departure from that approach actually just opened up my. My world of music. So I started working in a different way, and I think that that made me attract people who maybe aren't what you would typically assume a Nashville musician to be like. Nashville's music is. The spectrum is so much more broad than it was before. You'll find people making all kinds of music, and I love that it's growing. The traffic sucks, but the food's gotten really good. I do wish that there was some reverence for the old music venues around town. This being Music City, I think that we've forsaken some of those really awesome institutions that made people want to move here in the first place. Like, there's so much that's given way to the bottom line and tourism and all those things which are necessary per city to grow. But, yeah, I think I'm missing the soul of the music scene a little bit and terms of the live entertainment. But there are some incredible places still.
Buzz Knight
There's a lot of unsung musical heroes, songwriters, session people that need to be showcased and acknowledged more. I know there's a ton of them that worked on Cocoon with you. Why don't you shine a light on some of these at times. Unsung heroes?
Maggie Rose
Yeah. I think Melissa Fuller is an incredible writer. She's also a great artist, and I've written songs with her on previous projects. Davis Nash, he was one of the producers with Ben Tanner, who produced my last album, and Davis helped me write a lot of the songs. He is an incredible programmer and musician. Ben Tanner is. He's with Alabama Shakes out on tour right now, and he's been so instrumental to my evolution. We made an album down at Fame and Muscle Shoals a couple years ago, and then we worked on no One Gets Out Alive. And he's someone who really gets in the trenches with me and helps me with the A and R process and selecting the songs. And, I mean, the role of producer, he takes and he runs with it. He offers so much more. And of course, Natalie Hemby is a great friend of mine. She collaborated on it. Steph Jones, who's had a hell of a year, she's written a bunch of songs for Sabrina Carpenter has a great pop sensibility. Oh, boy. I know I'm forgetting a bunch of people, but my sound guy, Anderson Clendenin, helped with the mixing of it. And he's like this young kid who comes out on the road with us and is such a whiz. I'm very excited to watch his career grow. I forget that he's like only 24 or something. So, yeah, it's exciting. I stay inspired by the people I get to work with.
Buzz Knight
I mean, you've been an independent, you know, kind of self founded in your own way. Can you give a piece of advice to artists trying to make it without the big machine behind them?
Maggie Rose
Yes. I mean, I think you have to be resolute in the fact that this is what you want to do and definitely don't let what's around you validate your efforts. I've done this with a big machine. I've done it independently over the years, of course, and I think just always wanting to write that next song and staying curious and wanting to continue to examine myself, that's never gone away. I think staying creative is. You have to just be diligent about it. I think that's an approach that I feel like I need to always be trying to flex that muscle. And also I have done this in such a grassroots way. I think playing live regularly and all these different markets and making sure that I go back and nurture those communities that have come out and seen me over the years. Like, that's a really important way for me to sustain my audience and what I do, even if it's a little bit longer of a lapse in between releasing new music. Like, we just. We try to stay out there because the live show is so important to me in connecting with people.
Buzz Knight
Talk about some more of the songs on Cocoon. That in particular, you feel are going to really play great out in front of people.
Maggie Rose
Well, I failed to mention Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly as some of my collaborators. They wrote the title track with me, and they also wrote Relentless with me. And they actually are very celebrated songwriters. They've written songs for Miley Cyrus and all sorts of people. But I think Relentless is a really great message for the EP as a whole, because I wrote it just a few days after I found out that I was dropped by my previous record label. I have a new home and everything turned out all right. But that was one of those moments where you're asking, like, how does an artist keep going without the big machine? That was definitely a moment where I decided to Double down and press on. And I think that that always goes over really well in the audience because it's not necessarily providing a solution for the listener, but it is definitely an encouraging message.
Buzz Knight
The Washington Post little newspaper called you one of music's rising storytellers. What stories are you most compelled to tell right now at this stage of your life?
Maggie Rose
Right now? Stories of Hope. The last song on the EP is a song called Fly, and it's the only song in this collection of songs that I didn't write and record, you know, while I was pregnant. I actually wrote it years ago with Caitlin Smith and Raleigh Goldswick, and it almost, I felt like I was like, this is too, too hopeful, this is too positive. And because of where I am right now with my son and I'm excited about the future, I felt like, okay, this is time to share this message and maybe it'll be like Field of Dreams. If you put it out there, it'll happen. And I think that's what we need right now. Know it sounds trite, but if you can package it in a way that you, you can believe, and I feel like I, I'm trying to get there, then that's okay. We can, I'll have more of that out there for sure.
Buzz Knight
Maggie, you clearly have this approach, which is not leaving anything, you know, taken for granted and just playing and creating as if it's the last time you're going to play and create. You, you have that all in, thousand percent approach for sure. Do you know when that first clicked in as a musician, that attitude?
Maggie Rose
I, I mean, I think sometimes it's, it's almost like I, I just need to get in that mode and hope that I will mentally arrive there. So, like, it appears that way. But I think it's because I see this as a vocation. I think it's, there's not really a plan B. There's not something else I would rather be doing. So it makes it very simple in a way because you're just like, well, this is it. And I'm getting to do what I love. And yeah, it comes with some challenges and it can be kind of gnarly at times, but I don't have to wonder about what else I want to be doing. So that kind of makes it easy in a way to just say, okay, we're all in.
Buzz Knight
I'm so grateful that you came on the podcast and for, I'm so grateful for the music that you continue to give us and the performances and, and, oh, I neglected to let you plug your podcast. So why don't you plug your podcast?
Maggie Rose
Thank you. It's called Salute to Songbird and I get to interview all my favorite women in the industry. And I just did a special episode with Caitlin Smith and Lucy Silvis and Jillian Jacqueline about motherhood and being a working mom in the industry. But I've had Melissa Etheridge on and Nancy Wilson and it's just, it's so dreamy. And now I'm doing in front of a live audience, which is really fun because I'm talking to other performers and they just really give me great interviews with that energy in the room. So I hope to continue doing it. And the list of people that I've been recommended just never ends. It's constantly growing because there's so many amazing people out there to talk to.
Buzz Knight
Well, and those people want to be on with the cool people. And you are one of the cool people.
Maggie Rose
So thanks.
Buzz Knight
Yeah, thanks Maggie.
Maggie Rose
I'm trying.
Buzz Knight
I appreciate you being on. This is awesome.
Maggie Rose
It's great to talk to you. Thank you so much for having me.
Buzz Knight
Thanks for listening to this episode of.
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The Taking a Walk podcast.
Buzz Knight
Share this and other episodes with your.
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Buzz Knight
This episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. When I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I get eight times points on all the purchases I make through Chase Travel and even access to one of a kind experiences like music festivals and sports events. And that's not even mentioning how the card gets me into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide. No matter where I'm walking, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Discover more@chase.com Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.
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Season 2 of unrivaled basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Briana Stewart and more take the court and redefine the game. This isn't your regular season.
Maggie Rose
This is unrivaled, where the pace is.
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Faster, the energy is higher, and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball season two sponsored by Samsung Galaxy tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not invested investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.
Maggie Rose
You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here.
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With an IFIT contract for $250,000.
Maggie Rose
This is where mindset comes in.
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Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com A new year is on the horizon and your 2026 savings start here. Right now.
Maggie Rose
You can access the Washington post for just $2 every four weeks.
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Maggie Rose
And the world around you. Now's the perfect time to subscribe because.
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Great habits and great savings start together.
Maggie Rose
Go to washingtonpost.com iheart that's washingtonpost.com iheart.
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And start your year informed with a post.
Maggie Rose
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Episode: Maggie Rose Reveals How She Redefined Her Country Music Career and Embraced Her True Artistic Identity
Date Aired: December 23, 2025 (originally October 10, 2025)
Guest: Maggie Rose (Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter)
This episode features Maggie Rose, a genre-blurring, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter known for her powerful vocals and bold creative evolution. Host Buzz Knight and Maggie delve into her critically acclaimed album No One Gets Out Alive (2024), her transformative EP Cocoon, the impact of motherhood, her journey through Nashville’s changing scene, and the challenges and rewards of pursuing an independent music career. The conversation balances music history, personal reflection, and a celebration of artistic authenticity.
(04:28–06:45)
(06:45–07:57)
(07:57–10:13)
(10:18–11:58)
(11:58–13:32)
(13:32–15:31)
(15:31–17:26)
(21:33–23:36)
(23:36–25:43)
(25:43–27:24)
(27:24–28:59)
(28:59–30:09)
(30:09–31:29)
(31:29–32:31)
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------| | 04:28 | Maggie answers, “walk with anyone” question (Paul McCartney, Abraham Lincoln) | | 06:45 | On genre-blending and not following “the rules” | | 08:11 | Performing with the Nashville Symphony at Americana Fest | | 10:34 | Creative headspace for No One Gets Out Alive | | 12:19 | Motherhood & the creation of Cocoon | | 13:42 | Collaborating with Grace Potter (“Poison in My Well”) | | 15:38 | Early realization of music’s communal power | | 21:33 | How Nashville and Maggie’s own journey have evolved since 2008 | | 23:57 | Highlighting writers, producers, and other collaborators | | 25:57 | Advice for independent artists | | 27:34 | “Relentless” and responding to label setbacks | | 28:59 | Stories Maggie wants to tell now—Hope, “Fly” | | 30:35 | How/why “All-In” attitude took hold | | 31:44 | Maggie’s “Salute to Songbird” podcast |
Maggie Rose’s episode is a testament to the power of reinvention, creative authenticity, and the importance of community—both in music and in life. She shares vulnerable insights about loss and hope, unpacks the realities of being a woman and new mother in the industry, and underscores the importance of collaboration. Maggie’s journey, marked by self-determination and gratitude, serves as an inspiring blueprint for indie and mainstream artists alike.
For more in-depth music conversations and history, subscribe to Takin' A Walk – Music History with Buzz Knight on your favorite podcast platform.