Songwriter and Independent Artist, Paige King Johnson, grew up with music revolving around her. She started playing piano around the age of six because her sister was taking lessons at the time. By the age of ten, her granddad bought her first guitar for Christmas as if he knew this was going to be with her for her entire life. He encouraged her to explore multiple sides of music. When he passed away, Paige knew that was her sign to take music serious. "Music was there for me today and was not going away tomorrow. I never looked back from there."
Back home in North Carolina, Johnson had started a dinner theater after high school and kept thinking about where she would go from there. Making the move to study at Belmont University in Nashville was where she grounded her feet in songwriting. Paige enjoyed exploring the business side of the industry as well as the artistry. She's been in Nashville for over six years as a solo artist. "I put all my time and effort into it and it's been a big blessing for me."
In the last year or two, the pandemic changed everyone's lives. I love being on the road. That's my favorite part as an artist: getting to see the country and meeting people. 75 shows got canceled at the start of the pandemic, but it taught me where to put my worth. As artists, we gauge ourselves against different people and compare ourselves to what everyone else is doing. Everyone was at home and the playing field evened out for me. I view myself as an artist and as a songwriter. I gained my confidence back.
Paige grew up listening to classic country music, so she tries to keep those elements in her writing. She focuses on instrumentation and the story. She said to me how she prides herself being raised on country music and still playing her musical roots today. When she started writing music in Nashville, she tried building a solid community around her. Moving from North Carolina to Tennessee was a big change, leaving friends and family behind to chase a dream. Johnson wants to be both the songwriter and the artist. There has always been a great balance between the both and she is able to put her heart into everything she does. There's no other career path for Paige, it's going to be a long road, but one she is willing to take. When you listen to her music, you wouldn't expect the rich and deep sound that Paige has. The production, the vocals, the instrument tracking, takes you back to the 2010's. Her song "Baby Don't" takes modern spin on country music, like a Miranda Lambert and Elle King duet meets Keith Urban.
My whole life is pretty much planned out. We’re working towards an album release coming in the beginning of June. It will be my first full length album and a lot of these songs started at the peak of the pandemic. It's so nice to see the finish line for these songs
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Great article. I always enjoy the stories of the Nashville songwriters