Melody of memories

By Burton Cole

DRY RIDGE — Sami Riggs writes about life.

The singer-songwriter who grew up in Butler sets to music memories of childhood games and dreams, of first loves, of people lost to the years.

It’s what makes her songs so relatable, said Riggs, 32. The listener doesn’t necessarily have to have experienced that exact situation for the songs to evoke reflections and emotions.

“Even if you write a song about a certain subject, other people can listen to that and take it a different way.”

Her upcoming single, “Black Sheep,” pays tribute to her Pendleton County roots as well as saluting everything her husband, John, overcame to grow into the man she loves.

“That song I literally wrote in 10 minutes. That’s not normal for me. Something channeled through me.

“I knew for a long time I wanted to write a song: ‘High school year, I got kicked out of school/They didn’t quite know what to do with me…’ The words then just fell on the page.

“‘Mommy loved her cigarettes/Daddy loved his Corvettes/nobody loved me.’

“Whether or not someone truly is a black sheep, they identify with the feeling that they don’t belong.”

Most of what Riggs records for Spotify and other online platforms, or sings at her shows throughout Northern Kentucky and beyond is personal.

“The songs I have right now come from life experiences. It’s pretty organic,” she said.

“I grew up in Peach Grove on Colony Drive, a little tiny subdivision (of Butler). ‘When We Grow Up’ was for my friend Stacy on Colony Drive. It’s really about my time growing up … and the friendship that was formed with my neighbor that ultimately faded away.

“There’s the line that goes, ‘Cause we used to play in the yard and now I don’t know who you are’ that always hits me very deeply when I sing it.

“‘Moonflower’ was about a cousin of mine who pretty much ran away from home.”

The song “Daniel, Are You Listening?” is about a former boyfriend.

“It’s about being young and in love, going out on your own for the first time, and trying to figure things out,” Riggs said.

The rocker includes lines such as: “We go what we wanted/Now you’re acting haunted/And I just keep wanting more” and “Why can’t we shove aside the things that come between/I guess that could only happen if we had a childhood dream,” and “Things aren’t going quite the way we planned.”

“It’s all truth, really,” Riggs said.

THE EARLY YEARS

Riggs said that from a young age, she had a love for singing, and she made up her own songs.

“In sixth grade, I took guitar lessons from a local woman, Diane Turner. She would just come to my house and give me guitar lessons.

“After a while, I started playing with her and her husband at age 12 in bars.

“My go-to song was ‘Fancy,’ by Reba McEntire,” Riggs said. “After a while, I realized I could sing.”

Her songwriting ramped up during her high school years. “Looking back at my high school notebooks now, they were bad,” Riggs said. But she was writing.

“I feel like I got the writing knack from my mom. She wrote children’s stories,” Riggs said.

Riggs attended Pendleton County schools through her sophomore year. After her parents divorced, she finished out at Conner High School in Hebron.

“It was always kind of bittersweet going back to where I grew up,” she said.

Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, her influences included Tom Petty and Sheryl Crow.

“I didn’t want to be a country singer, but now that I’m older, I identify more with country,” she said.

“I feel like there’s Pendleton County in my songs, but that’s not necessarily the reason I write them. The Wool Festival, bluegrass — I take away from my roots.

She described the creative process as an idea will pop into her mind then take on a life of its own.

“If you don’t chase after the idea, it will go off to someone else,” Riggs said. “We think our ideas are so unique, but really, it’s who’s going to get to it first.”

She had the idea of telling her husband’s story, but it wasn’t until after she met Jen Short at a painting class at Hilltop Highlands Cattle Farmm in Demossville that started coming together.

Short owns BlackSheep Farmstead in Falmouth.

“After I wrote the song, I loved the idea of coming back to where I grew up to have the photos taken at a place that also identified as being ‘black sheep.’”

There was a surprise waiting for her when she arrived in March.

“They actually named one of their female goats Riggs after me,” Riggs said.

All the animals on BlackSheep Farmstead are named for country musicians.

WHAT’S NEXT

The goal now is to land a record deal.

Riggs said she doesn’t believe she’s pushed herself enough in the past, so now she’s concentrating on releasing more music on streaming platforms such as Band Camp, Spotify and YouTube, playing more live festivals and shows, and doing more networking in hopes of getting some Nashville contacts and shows lined up.

“Right now, I’m trying to figure it out,” she said. “I feel I have more confidence to go out and do it. I’m not just saying I’m going to do it; I’m doing it.

“I’m just kind of having fun with it and seeing where it goes.”

A new release, “Upside Down,” is set for May 30. “Black Sheep” will come out toward the end of June or early July.

She is booked to play Writers’ Round shows today at The Stillery Midtown in Nashville and Crooner Circus May 17 on Fountain Square in Cincinnati. The Balloons and Tunes festival July 27 at the Wool Festival Grounds in Falmouth also is on her calendar.

She also has bookings for May 28, June 18 and Aug. 6 at Edwardo’s Pizza and Subs in Williamstown, and Sept. 6 at Elk Creek Vineyards in Owentown, Ky.

For schedules and links to her releases, visit samiriggs.com.