Nashville-based singer-songwriter Alex Lambert talked with host Jill Riley about finding his sound in Nashville, gardening, and performing at The Current Happy Hour Series in Two Harbors.

Listen to the full interview in the player above, and find a complete transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current, I'm Jill Riley. The Current Happy Hour Series continues this afternoon. And The Current, well, we're taking a drive up Highway 61, just under 30 miles north of Duluth to Two Harbors. We're going to be at Castle Danger Brewery starting at 4:00. Bill DeVille will be hosting and spinning the tunes leading up to a 6:00 p.m. performance from singer-songwriter Alex Lambert. And we wanted to check in with Alex ahead of the gig in Two Harbors this afternoon/evening. And Alex is on the line. Hello, how are you?

Alex Lambert: Doing great. How are you?

Jill Riley: I am doing really well. You know, we have been playing the song "Shoot Me Down" at The Current. And you know, your sound it's this combination of like this Texas soulful, country sound. And in fact, I think I've just heard it described as “Texas Soul.” And Alex, I wonder if you could kind of expand on that and talk about how you kind of take two genres and find them kind of melding together for your music.

Alex Lambert: Well, I think I just love so many different types of music, and I'm so passionate about just Americana music in general, just roots music from the South especially, country, blues, soul. I grew up listening to so many different things. My papa influenced me so much in the country realm, and then my mom always was listening to soul and R&B and classic rock. And so I don't know. I just think if I had to do one thing all the time, I'd probably go crazy. So I like to switch it up and blend genres.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with Alex Lambert on The Current. Now you have been making your way up and coming up in the music industry for quite a few years, but it's been at this point where I think you've really established yourself as a singer-songwriter. You've established kind of who you are and the sounds that you want to make with all the influences blended together, and I wonder if you could talk a little bit about some of the things that have even come up in the year 2026, where you feel like the pieces are falling into place. I mean, even like signing with a record label.

Alex Lambert: Yeah, you know, I moved to Nashville about four and a half years ago, and as you know, this business takes time. I truly believe that you do have to cut your teeth, and you do have to pay your dues. You have to pay your dues on the road, when it comes to social media and everything else. I've been working hard for almost five years at this thing, and we're just getting started. But you know, I will give a lot of credit to my team, my management, my booking - I get presented so many amazing opportunities that continue to move the needle, and so it's just starting to compound. And I just feel blessed to be able to do this for a living.

Jill Riley: Yeah, and can you talk about the label you're on, Big Loud Texas? I think there's an interesting connection there that actually flips some expectations of what people thought maybe you were connected to, to another artist, that actually isn't quite there. But ironically, there's a different connection if you know what I'm getting at. It has to do with your last name.

Alex Lambert: Yeah. So Miranda [Lambert], this is her imprint at Big Loud, the Texas division of it, and her assistant actually asked her. She said, "Are you kin to this guy?" Because she heard my song "Crying in the Rain," and she goes, "Are you kin to Alex?" And she was like, don't think so, but this is awesome. Let's sign this guy. And so I met with them, and we hit it off really quick. And there is a chance that Miranda and I could be cousins down the line, because she's from East Texas, really close to where all my family's from in East Texas. All the Lamberts. So we should look into it, but we haven't. But we very well could be related.

Jill Riley: That would be wild if you found out you were like fifth cousins, you know, twice removed, or however the cousin chart works.

Alex Lambert: It'd almost be crazier if we weren't. You know, just because literally like 30 minutes from where all my family's from, is where she's from, and they're all Lamberts. And so, and they've been there forever, so I don't know.

Jill Riley: I don't know. The world is a really small place when we stop and think about it. That's pretty wild. I'm talking with Alex Lambert on The Current, performing live as part of The Current Happy Hour Series. It starts at 4:00 this afternoon with Bill DeVille doing the DJ spinning, and Alex will take the stage at 6:00. So, this is just north of Duluth in Two Harbors. So, I just want to like call everybody's attention who's listening in Duluth this morning that you've got a happy hour coming your way near where you listen at Castle Danger Brewery. Alex, you've been posting a lot about a new song that you've released called "Think I'm in Love." Do you want to just talk about that song and, when did you start writing it? What was your inspiration? Cause it seems like you are very excited about this new song.

Alex Lambert: Yeah, it's one of my favorites that I've released in a while, and I think it's one of my favorites because it's very much me. It's very much just an expression of me as an artist, and I started writing this song probably I think 3 years ago, and I just had a little voice memo on my phone with the title, and I kind of wrote the song and finished it, and then I was in a writing session one day, and I played it for a fellow writer, his name is Rivers Rutherford. And I played it for him, and he goes, "You know what? That second verse should be the first verse, and then we should change the lyric in the chorus." And after that, I really just fell in love with the song even more, and I've been playing it out in live for years, and it's been one of my favorites, And I don't know, when I release a song and and I love it so much, I get so excited to share it with other people, and I'm just thankful that other folks are connecting with it as well.

Jill Riley: Well, when it comes to love songs, I mean there are so many different kinds of love songs. There's new love, there's unrequited love, there's the feel-good love, there's the very nostalgic and sentimental love, there's heartbreak love, there's hidden love, maybe forbidden love, but this is the kind of love song that I feel like has that kind of scary, almost like anticipation. I wonder if you could talk about for you, what does a love song need for you for it to connect with you?

Alex Lambert: That's a tough question, you know. But at the core of it, I think it just needs to be real and authentic because, you know, love comes in a bunch of different shapes and comes on in a bunch of different ways, and so I think if it's just like an authentic story that someone's writing from the heart and I think that's what makes it connect with me because I can I can feel the true emotion of the artist through the record. And so that's what I love.

Jill Riley: Yeah, Alex Lambert on The Current. We're talking about the new song, "Think I'm in Love." So, Alex, so far this year, this would be what, the fifth single that you've put out? Is this leading to a full-length record? Are you working on some more? Because rolling out the music in singles, plenty of people do that, but it's always kind of the assumption that you must be cooking something.

Alex Lambert: So, I don't know how much I'm supposed to divulge, but yeah, all these singles are a part of a greater body of work. I've always been an album person. My favorite artists, I don't just love a single of theirs. I fall in love with the record and the world that is created by those artists. And so, I want to be that kind of artist and person and singer, too. So, yeah, this is all part of a bigger world that I cannot wait to share.

Jill Riley: All right, I like how you put that. Well said. Talking with Alex Lambert on The Current, playing The Current Happy Hour Series this afternoon at Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors. Alex, how long ago did you move to Nashville, and how has the environment of Nashville influenced you?

Alex Lambert: And when I moved here to Music City, I was like, okay, it's Music City, but then I quickly realized this is Song City, and everyone here is a storyteller and a songwriter. And so since moving here, I've really sharpened my songwriting craft because I'm stepping into the room with these hit songwriters, and I've been so blessed to work with so many amazingly creative people. And it's so inspiring, but it's also, you're picking up little nuggets of how to improve and change and grow. And you're watching these songwriters write and you're like, just, it just helps you just hone your craft. And that's what I love about living in Nashville. There's just so much creativity. And, you know, you can get lost in the country music sauce and the whole radio thing, but like for me, I don't really look at myself as like a commercial country artist in any way, you know. I just think the way I tell stories and write my songs is, just more soulful and bluesy, you know. And, but man, I'll tell you what, ever since I moved to Nashville, it's just a lot of inspiration and, just synergy. Everyone here is looking out for you and, and wanting to help you and, that's a really beautiful thing.

Jill Riley: Yeah, sounds like you found a great community. Alex, before I let you go, you have posted about it on your social media, but as we are taping this, you have a beautiful garden behind you and I am also a gardener and I couldn't help but notice just how many tomato plants you have going. Tell me about your experience with gardening and what it does for you. You got a lot of tomato plants going there, my friend. Tell me about what you got going on in your garden.

Alex Lambert: I got about fifteen tomato plants and a bunch of peppers and okra and cucumbers and man, gardening has just been such a grounding — and I every time I come out here and I'm working on my garden, I just think about how such a miracle it is to — cause I planted everything from a seed, to see that seed grow to a little seedling into a fruit-bearing plant and I just I don't know, I just think about God's creation, honestly, and the miracle that this life is. And I know that sounds a little heady and deep, but, honestly, just coming out here and getting some sun in the morning and taking care of my plants, it just helps me keep some perspective and stay grounded, and I don't know, it's a humbling experience, especially, and it's been a fun learning experience, because I've had a bunch of aphids and insects problems and spider mites and just navigating the whole thing is just, it's a fun journey. I don't know, it's hard to put it into words. I don't talk about my garden a lot, I mainly just do it, but I'm noticing that when I meet someone else and they garden, I'm immediately like, “Okay, you're good people.” And I just ask them like, "How are you doing, like, what are you feeding them? What are you doing? "So, I don't know.

Jill Riley: Yeah, it's like, “Are you experiencing blight on your leaves? Like, what are we going to do? We need to come up with a solution for this.” There is something about gardening that in the way you talk about it, Alex, when you talk about, you know, when there's something that you grew from seed to something that you then get to eat or share with others, quite frankly, it kind of sounds like writing a song.

Alex Lambert: That's right.

Jill Riley: Well, Alex, I appreciate you taking the time to check in before you are part of The Current Happy Hour Series. We're looking forward to your performance, Alex Lambert at Castle Danger Brewery. Enjoy the North Shore. There is such a beautiful view of Lake Superior and good people up on the Iron Range of Minnesota. Looking forward to seeing you.

Alex Lambert: Looking forward to being there. Thank you so much.

Jill Riley: Yeah. Alex Lambert with some sort of body of work in the process, so I'm sure we will learn more as that information is ready to be released. You can go to thecurrent.org/happyhours for the details for today's event, and you are listening to The Current.

Credits

Guests – Alex Lambert
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer - Natalia Toledo

External Link

Alex Lambert – Official Website