Sometimes, an artist pops onto your radar, and you are grateful for the music, for the beauty it imparts, for the understanding and knowledge it conveys. Sammi Accola is one such artist, and, wow, are we thankful for her stunningly great new album. With lyrical depth and honesty, gorgeous melodies, and heartbreakingly lovely vocals, the songs on “A Candle on a Busy Street” are sublime Americana-laced perfection and absolutely a must-listen. We sat down with Accola recently to chat about the album and her music.
Hi, Sammi! You have an absolutely amazing new album that just came out in March called “A Candle on a Busy Street.” Please tell us about the album in a big picture sort of way.
Thank you. I’m so excited about it as well. “A Candle On A Busy Street” is a collection of songs living in the honest tension and middle grounds of life: fear and joy, faith anddoubt, justice and injustice, waiting and the now, questions and answers. And the hope of it all.
This record calls forth for change (“Renaissance”), shares the necessary walk of faith and justice in daily life (“Turning The Tables”), beautiful differences of being a woman in the church (“Holy Woman”), processing grief (“Waiting Room”), a complex relationship with addiction (“Beginning Of An Apology” and “Survivor’s Guilt”), and finding worth in the midst of overwhelming identifiers (“Mona Lisa”).
That last song you mentioned, “Mona Lisa,” is wonderful and stood out to me. What can you tell us about that song? What inspired you to write this song?
Let me take you to Paris for my 21st birthday. As any newly twenty-fun-year-old dreams, I went to the Louvre, and, on our tour, we made it to the Mona Lisa. Our guide said, “Did you know the reason the Mona Lisa became famous is because she was stolen?” The painting was gone for 24 hours and nobody noticed—when they finally did, every news outlet frantically caught on. When the mysterious portrait was found, that’s when the red velvet ropes went up, crowds gathered, and the quaintly sized canvas found a permanent residency. This story felt familiar.
In Nashville, I work at Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that serves women survivors of human trafficking, abuse, and addiction. It’s a daily reminder that we all carry parts of our stories we wish weren’t true and choices that were made outside of our control. “Mona Lisa” is an ode to the women I admire, the stories I hold within my own experience, and a friend to our feelings of shame and inadequacy. The song offers a better word—reminding us that we are “more than a work of art.”
The production on this song is purely cinematic–swirling with sounds from a live autoharp and drum builds that feel effortless. I’m so proud of how it turned out.
What was it like recording this album? Any great studio stories? Who played on the album with you?
It was really important for me to work with women as the authority figures for this project–a musical matriarch of sorts. I wanted to sit in the studio knowing that if I burst out in tears, whoever I was working with would be willing to sit with me and be a source of comfort. Out of true favor, both Latifah Alattas (Moda Spira/Page CXVI) and Lori Chaffer (Waterdeep), who co-produced this record, are beautiful mothers and women who carry both fire and gentleness in the same breath.
For the recording of “Holy Woman,” I brought in some of my closest friends and most trustworthy singers—Summerlyn Powers, Andriana Seay, and Michelle Raybourn—to form a “mini-choir,” elevating the power of these words that “you can call me anything, but I’m a holy woman,” through stacked harmony and glorious melodic freedom.
I also had incredible studio players—Terence F. Clark, Will Honaker, Juan Solorzano, and Lucas Morton—join on “Mona Lisa,” “Turning the Tables,” and “Beginning of an Apology.” It was the most surreal experience watching these guys walk into the room having never heard the songs before, then chart them after listening to a single demo. So naturally, they transformed the musical landscape into something tender, and at times daunting. I loved seeing these songs I wrote in my house—just on acoustic guitar or piano—find life!
Have you played any of these songs live? And what has the reception been like to them?
Yes!!!! For years. Some of these songs I wrote three or four years ago, so it’s about time they were released!
The album title… how did you choose it? What does it mean to you?
The title of the album, “A Candle on a Busy Street,” is pulled from the lyrics of the song “Renaissance,” which sings: “Hold a candle on a busy street, I’ll sleep when there’s heavenly peace—on Earth we are painters, beautiful strangers, walking each other home.”
To me, it’s an image of fragile hope held in loud, chaotic places—believing that even small, quiet acts of faith matter.
I imagine unhoused men and women holding cardboard signs, and someone passing a flame—small, steady, and secure—reminding the world of our shared humanity and how we still belong to one another. I hear voices raised in protest and prayer, people breaking through the silence and confusion against all odds.
How do you feel you’ve changed or grown as an artist/writer/creative person since you started making music?
This is the second project I’ve released—the first was an EP titled “Horizon Eyes” in 2022. I really leaned into my Florida/Sunshine State roots on that record, but for this new project I’ve been in a much more reflective state. Post-pandemic, through my work in the recovery space, and while navigating personal questions around grief and truly wrestling with God, this record naturally leaned heavier, because my life felt heavy.
I’m fascinated by the process and hopeful for the continued evolution of my artistry. It feels both natural and necessary for me to keep growing, expanding, and being changed by the world so clearly around us.
Are there any artists who inspired what you did on this album, be it lyrically, musically, or both?
So many. Brandi Carlile is at the top of my list for performing grit, lyrical genius, and living a career of service for her community through music. I got to meet her in 2022 as we were both performing at a small festival called Moon Crush, and she was just as lovely as I hoped she would be.
Lauren Daigle is another artist I’ve admired for years who has carved her own path in the Christian space, crossing genres, celebrating her Louisiana culture, and “Don’t Believe Them” on her latest record written with Natalie Hemby is just gorgeous.
Oh, did I mention Natalie Hemby? She is both the creator of words and melodies behind so many of my favorite artists and records—I wish I could be a fly on the wall in those writing rooms.
Lastly, Tenille Townes’ fierce loyalty to telling true stories from her Canadian home and finding ways to weave service into her art is truly inspiring.
How does it feel to be releasing this album into the world for all to hear?
So exciting and also quite intimidating. Many of these songs come from vulnerable and hard memories in my story, but I believe they are worth sharing and hopefully reminding someone else they are not the only one going through what they are going through.
What has been the most exciting thing to happen for you in the past year? What are you most looking forward to in the coming months in 2026?
In 2025, I started partnering with Your Song, a nonprofit formed by Kyshona Armstrong, that links songwriters with marginalized communities to help people write their own stories through song form. It has been deeply rewarding and led to leading workshops with Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that I’ve been working with the last four years serving women survivors.
Additionally, playing 30A Songwriters Festival for the fifth year was truly a blessing! This is my Christmas and by far favorite weekend of the year catching up with friends (at the beach!) and hearing nonstop incredible songs to learn from and be moved by.
For my new album, which came out on March 27th, I hosted an Album Release Show at The Center for Contemplative Justice in Nashville on Thursday, March 26th! I was incredibly excited to headline the night with my all-female band and to have Meredith Aguirre open. Visit my website, sammiaccola.com, for more tour dates!
