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Logan Brill finds her roots in the rich musical soil of East Tennessee. This Knoxville native migrated slightly West to Nashville to pursue an education at the acclaimed, Belmont University. Not wanting to limit herself to music, though, she earned a degree in French with a minor in vocal performance, always knowing, however, that music was her true path. It was this instinctive course that led her to signing with Carnival Music in early 2012. Carnival Music is home to the talents of David Nail, Troy Jones, Scooter Carusoe, and many others. Carnival is owned and operated by producer Frank Liddell (Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Lee Ann Womack) and is responsible for generating eleven number ones in the past decade. She has recently begun writing for her forthcoming project and touring extensively in the Southeast. more >>>

“I’m such a blatantly honest person,” says Holly, “and I love to listen to albums where I
feel like the artist is truly sharing their life and intimate details with me. I like to feel like
I’m really getting to know their life and struggles and joys.” Holly Williams is an
accomplished singer/songwriter with quite a story to tell. There is much more to this
artist than just belonging to a famous family with “Williams” as a last name.

People Magazine named Holly’s 2nd record “Here With Me” one of the top 10 albums of
the year in any genre…
Billboard magazine proclaimed “One of the best singer/songwriter albums to come out
of Nashville in the last year”…
These are just a few hints of the overwhelming critical acclaim for this artist.

Holly has been using music to tell the story of her life and those around her for quite
some time. Starting at age eight, Holly filled a notebook she called “Holly’s song folder”
with her own compositions, though the lyrical content was far beyond the comprehension
of your typical elementary school student. The first of these songs titled “Who Am I” told
the story of a young woman facing a broken marriage and mounting confusion about her
place in life. Holly’s penchant for addressing life’s ups and downs through song was
clearly established at this point, as was her songwriting method.

Her love affair came to the forefront at age 17 when she picked up a guitar, learned a few
chords, and discovered her gift for crafting music and lyrics. As her high school friends
continued on to college, Holly took a different path—striking out on her own to make
music. Giving herself one year to pursue her dream, Holly began booking shows for
herself around Nashville at age 18.

That one year turned into three with Holly playing shows by herself and with a small
band. Following a three-month stay in Los Angeles where she honed her songwriting
skills and studied the piano as a second instrument, Holly accepted an offer to tour
Europe with accomplished singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, one of her favorites.

“I flew over there with a guitar and a backpack full of five-song EP’s I’d made and took
trains to each city,” says Holly. “It was an amazing time, I had just read Jack Kerouac’s
‘On The Road’, and Salinger’s ‘Catcher In The Rye’ and they completely changed me. I
was traveling alone throughout Europe doing what I loved and roughing it, and I could so
easily relate to these complex characters going out on their own and finding their path.”

Around this time, Holly began to realize the full meaning of her family’s history in the
music world. Though her father is country legend Hank Williams Jr., Holly’s time spent
with her dad mostly took place when he was off the road and away from the spotlight. In
turn, Holly never realized the influence of her grandfather Hank Williams, Sr. until she
embarked on her own musical explorations.

“The artists that I love are the ones that brought me back to him. When I started writing
songs, I heard people like Dylan, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits and John Prine talk about
Hank Sr. being an influence. I love how that circle happened.

Over the next few years, Holly’s touring kept her on the road for months at a time. Kasey
Chambers and Holly had some very successful runs throughout Europe and Australia.
Stateside Holly drove around the country in her mom’s suburban with a keyboard and
guitar in the back, sometimes with very long stretches in between shows. She shared the
bill with a wide range of artists including Train, John Mellencamp, Keith Urban, and
Madeleine Peyroux. With five years of independent touring under her belt, Holly released
her critically-acclaimed debut album “The Ones We Never Knew” in 2004 on Universal
South.

This album included some fan favorites including “Sometimes” which speaks about her
gone-too-soon legendary grandfather ‘I wish I were an angel in 52’ in a blue Cadillac on
the eve of the new year/And there I would have saved him, the man who sang the
blues/Maybe he is listening right now/Hopefully he’s listening right now’. Another
beautifully written track is “Would You Still Have Fallen” asking a friend how much she
could have done to save her from the spiral of addiction. “Everybody’s Waiting For A
Change” was her most successful single overseas on this album.

With her career on the upswing, Holly’s life was almost cut short when she and her sister
Hilary were involved in a devastating wreck near Memphis in March 2006. Hilary’s
injuries were much more extensive than Holly’s, and both were in critical condition by
the time their parents arrived at the hospital. Looking back on the accident, Holly is truly
thankful she and her sister survived. The events of that day forever changed the course of
Holly’s life and serve as the inspiration for one of the most stirring tracks off of her new
record, the song is called “Without Jesus Here With Me” and it quickly became one of
her most requested songs.

“Living through that wreck was truly a miracle,” Holly declares. “My sister went
unconscious from an extreme loss of blood and had an amazing experience in Heaven
with my grandparents, no one could believe what she went through and that she lived.
The doctors couldn’t explain how she was still alive from her extensive injuries, she has
endured 26 surgeries, has re-learned to walk 3 different times, and released a book in the
fall of 2010 called ‘Sign Of Life’ about her amazing story. She told me to put my seatbelt
on one mile before the wreck and she literally saved my life.”

After she was able to play the guitar again she was overflowing with songs. One in
particular “Mama” took on the touchy, all too commonplace topic of divorce. This lyric
tells the story of Holly’s own mother and the positive attitude she displayed to her
daughters while splitting up with their father. “So many parents talk about their spouses
so horribly in front of their kids. My parents never talked about each other in a negative
light in front of us, and I always joke with my mom that they saved me thousands of
dollars in therapy!” Holly says. The line “You never wore your pain too thick” was for
my amazing mother, who kept a smile on and made us feel that everything was ok during
the painful divorce. She was an amazing single mother and I didn’t realize the sacrifice
she made until I was much older.” Holly shared a special moment on Conan O’ Brien
performing this song alongside her mother. Holly’s mother has been in the studio with
Holly and Jools Holland, Jimmy Kimmel, and many other media outlets. “My mom is my
biggest supporter and an amazing singer, I love when our schedules allow her to travel
and see the world with me”, Holly says.

With her second album “Here With Me” for Universal records, Holly succeeded in
creating the type of album that would easily find a place among the works of her favorite
artists. It was released in June 2009 and hailed as one of the best albums of the year
repeatedly in the press. Penning the majority of the album’s 11 tracks, Holly writes with
piercing clarity on situations plucked from her life. While these songs come from
extremely personal places, Holly’s emotional honesty and commanding vocal
performances give “Here With Me” a timeless quality that only gets richer on repeated
listens.

As it turns out, “Mama” is just the tip of the iceberg on this collection of gems. The songs
each contain a vulnerably honest quality brought to life by Holly’s stunning vocal
performances. Nowhere is Holly’s gift more evident than on “I Hold On’. She eloquently
explores the process of grieving over a love lost. ‘I used to move on easy I was
strong/Like a widow to her lover I hold on’—This simple and beautifully written song
shows hints of her grandfather’s genius with his pen.

“Three Days In Bed” uses Holly’s measured choice of words and haunting vocal
performance to paint a startling visual in the listener’s mind recounting the story of a love
affair in Paris. “It’s the only track on the record that is a live performance with me and
my guitar, completely raw, which was very important to me to have on this record”,
Holly says.

While Holly has clearly forged her own musical path, shades of her family history pop up
here and there throughout her songs. Thee lonesome simplicity of Hank Sr.’s lyrics show
themselves most evidently on “Alone”, which deals with the all too familiar fear of being
alone and never finding someone, sometimes due to your own insecurities and
expectations. This is a stunning song with Holly playing the piano beautifully.

Holly has recently been sharing the stage with Jewel, Amos Lee and John Hiatt among
others in the US, and she completed a successful 6 week solo tour in Europe in the spring
of 2010. She also collaborated with one of her favorites Yusuf Islam (formerly known as
Cat Stevens) on his new record. On top of her music, Holly has a passion for fashion.
She opened one of Nashville’s hottest retail spots in 2007, appropriately named H.
Audrey, taken after her middle name from her grandmother Audrey Williams. Holly has
boundless creative energy and she handpicks every piece of merchandise. Sheryl Crow,
Patty Griffin and Gwyneth Paltrow are just a few of her biggest store fans. Though her
retail venture has been wildly successful, just one listen makes it clear her first love is
and always will be making music. She is currently writing and recording her 3rd album
and hopes to release it in the fall of 2011.

“When it’s in the blood, you can’t help it”, Holly says. If there is one thing to say about
Holly, this is an artist you will be hearing about for years to come… more >>>