Conversations with Lois Berg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lois Berg

Hi Lois, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m what is referred to as a unicorn here because I am originally from Nashville. My family is in the music industry so I grew up listening to them and of course they are my favorite influences. My step brother the late Paul Kirby (Cactus Brothers and Walk the West) brought me back into the studio years ago and my song “Crazy Angel” from that time brought me to the Williamsburg live song writing competition in NYC. I love writing songs and I love performing live. My banjo player has been playing with me for 15 years. I also wrote a pop album. Everything is independent and just out there on my own. I have a very small amount of followers right now but I’m still putting stuff out there. It’s been rough. I went through some homelessness and ended up in jail during a nasty divorce which I got sober during. I also faced being bipolar head on and now I’m stable. I lived in a battered women’s homeless shelter but went from there to Belmont University so from homeless to Belmont, I graduated with my Bachelor’s and I still have my day job. Who knows what else amazing things will come down the pike?

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? No way even close to that. I went to rehab after getting arrested for domestic assault against a six foot one marine (now my former husband). (I wrote a song about that called “White Trash Cookbook” it ended up on Lightning 100.) Thankfully my big sister hit song writer Matraca (Strawberry wine, Icon award winner) and my brother in law Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) got me into a great rehab program and from there I started working on learning how to live in recovery. Afterwards; I lived in halfway houses, then I ended up in a battered women’s homeless shelter “The Brooks House” in Lebanon but the woman Liz Reese from the shelter wrote a letter of recommendation that helped me get into Belmont at the time. I went from homelessness to Belmont it was wild. When I was at school my peers and I had two fund raising events for the homeless shelter and we brought the ladies from “The Brooks House “ we had a great time and put on a concert . I wrote Liz a song for her called “Mama “ cause we all called her that. I also had to face my mental illness of being bipolar. I have been stable ever since and my family especially says that they feel like they have their old me back. So yeah I’d say my main struggles today are actually my biggest blessings in retrospect.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write from my own experiences and I prefer to create a picture with my words. I put my albums together with different genres and styles. I have some country bluegrass blues albums and even a pop album. Almost everything is on my Bandcamp page including my book. I specialize in pushing the envelope of what is described as the corner of country music and modern art. I’m definitely proud of being in recovery for 16 years now and for writing a book about it. “Well behaved Cowgirls” I also love giving back to other women who have the same struggles as myself . What sets me apart is that every struggle I have had to overcome has deepened my own inner sense of determination and it’s reflected in my art.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Having the ability because of my own experience to give back to women who have the same struggles as me. It’s very cathartic.
I also brought my kids on vacation to NYC and I planned the entire vacation which was spectacular. We’re going back this summer.

Pricing:

• 10.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://loisberg1.bandcamp.com/
• Instagram: @loisberg10
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lois-berg-877b1b3a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@loisberg?feature=shared
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/sTbZmuXUqbKvmpka9