Priscilla Block knows firsthand that success in country music rarely happens overnight. Though her career found momentum online, years of grinding in Music City laid the foundation and that work ethic has never left her. Along the way, she’s looked to strong female acts like Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert as proof that building something lasting takes time.
Watching Lambert steadily build her career by consistently putting out music and working hard to sell tickets has helped Block appreciate the importance of every step of her journey, even the smaller moments that might have felt insignificant at the time. During a recent interview on the In The Blind Podcast, she admitted there were times early on when she wondered why things weren’t happening faster, but she now sees that those experiences ultimately made the milestones that followed feel even more meaningful.
“I look up to Miranda Lambert a lot and back to her just building her tickets and putting out music consistently throughout the years and I don’t know, [it] makes every single moment super special when it happens,” she explained. “My first number one was my third single at Country radio and before that I’m like, ‘damn, why isn’t this happening?’ I’m like, those were also big moments for me. Not every single song in every single moment is going to be big, but if you appreciate it, all the bigger moments feel better.”
She also points to Lainey Wilson as someone who’s been a constant source of support for her.
“Lainey Wilson is just, she’s always been one of those people that I feel like if there was anything that I needed or another girl to confide in, I feel like I could pick up the phone and call her anytime,” Block explained.
The North Carolina native added that it’s been exciting that more women seem to be thriving in country music right now and creating a community that uplifts each other.
“I think that now more than it has been for a long time, I think women are really kind of popping off in country right now, which is exciting to see. I think for a long time it was maybe it’s only one person going to be let in at a time or whatever It was…I think music is just, if it’s good, it’s good. It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a guy.”
That mindset goes back to how she was raised, as Block says her parents always made her believe she could do anything the guys could do and that is a lesson she’s carried with her into country music.
“I think good songs win and good people win and I’m just going to try and continue to put out the best music I can. And I hope that it continues resonating with people.”
Lambert and Wilson are both driving forces in the genre who have earned fans respect and love by being their most authentic selves and letting that show through in their music. That kind of vulnerability is something Block has always been drawn to and now she’s trying to do the same with her own career through songs like “Thick Thighs,” “My Bar,” “Couldn’t Care Less,” and so many more.
“I just try to stay in my lane and write songs that feel true to me and I think people sniff it out, you know what I mean? If it doesn’t feel real to you or if it feels like you’re putting on a facade or whatever, I think people sniff it, especially in today’s world. [With] social media, everyone can find out everything that they need to know about somebody online… I just feel like the way it is, fans just want real. And so I try to not chase anything like that, you know what I mean? I’m just doing me and writing what feels real.”
Luckily, this has proved to pay off among country music fans and Block says it’s because of their support that she’s gained so much momentum in her career. From crowdfunding early music to showing up at shows in crop tops and safety vests, they’ve been there since the beginning. And when fans tell her they feel more confident or more themselves because of her music, it reminds her why she started in the first place.
“At the end of the day, the fans are the ones that changed my life. So why wouldn’t I just try and be raw, real vulnerable and put out the music again that’s true to me? And I think it hits people. And it’s awesome when girls show up to my show and they’re like, ‘I wore the crop top because I knew that you’d be wearing the crop top.’ I’m like hell yeah. It’s just so many stories of people that are like ‘Priscilla, I feel like I love myself so much more now since I’ve listened to your music.’ It literally makes me cry. But that is why you do it. I mean, y’all know those moments where people are like, ‘you change my life.’ And so if I can do that, then I’m winning.”
Block went on to say that becoming that source of empowerment for her fans is something she will never “take for granted” because it means she is continuing to achieve her ultimate goal, which is to make music that truly impacts people.
Fans will get to experience some of her most emotionally vulnerable songs yet off her latest project, Things You Didn’t See, in a whole new way when she brings them to life on stage throughout her headline tour of the same name.
The trek launches Thursday, January 22, in San Luis Obispo and continues through March, when she wraps things up at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium with a special ‘Priscilla Block & Friends’ performance.