Bonner Rhae

“I put a lot of my past and present into these songs, and then in an unnerving sort of
way, I watched other songs become my life.”

The stories that Bonner Rhae crafted into Forward Address, her upcoming album, took
on an almost clairvoyant property as they came to fruition. “It was as if I subconsciously
anticipated a future that I struggled to accept for myself.”

Within a compact eight-song collection, she introduces listeners to her blend of
unpretentious pop country. The influence of fellow Lone Star singer-songwriters like
Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris weaves throughout songs about young love and
subsequent heartbreak, the power held inside of moving on and what it is to have
small-town dreams, to choose to chase them or what happens when you don’t.

Rhae grew up in Alvin, Texas, a half-hour outside of Houston. “My parents always
encouraged music in our house,” she says. “They’ve said I came out singing, and as far
back as I can remember, I was encouraged to keep doing so.” After teaching herself to
play the guitar, she learned the power of putting feelings to words and words to music,
both natural steps that quickly followed.

“Looks ain't always what they seem / On the fast track to used to be,” she sings on
“Small Town Beauty Queen,” one of the collection’s most-affecting tracks. It’s a story of
faded ambition, full of razor-sharp character-building like, “Who needed education with a
face like mine? But beauty fades and love ain't blind.”

Forward Address is full of subtle Texas influence; “Whiskey Wishing”—Rhae’s first
co-write—was penned with Jamie Lin Wilson, one of the state’s strongest songwriting
exports, and Kyle Hutton, a producer on the album and one of Rhae’s mentors. The
album was also co-produced with Walt Wilkins, a storied songwriting legend in the
state’s music scene.

“Now there’s a new town and a new routine, fresh flowers by the kitchen sink, a box full
of the memories,” she sings on the title track.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could send all of those memories and negative feelings away,
put them in an envelope and mail it off,” she says of the song. “I knew I wanted this one
to be light, dreamy, and a mix of respecting the past while looking to the future. I got the
idea while listening to Taylor Swift’s Evermore album, and, fittingly, I love the bridge.”

“Hey Girl” is an ode to college days and two-stepping; there’s also a cover of “My Feet
Don’t Touch the Ground”—a song Rhae taught herself guitar on, and a Texas Country
staple often found as the soundtrack to honky-tonk Saturday nights.

“Behind A Smile” reimagines a track written long ago by Matt Parrish and Justin Lofton.
“This little tune was gifted to me; I was allowed to take it, change it, and make it my
own,” she says. “Who hasn’t plastered on a smile and pretended that everything was fine
when it was absolutely not?”

“You Had It Coming” offers Rhae’s take on what is most aptly described as a revenge
song, while “No Rolling Stone” comes with a few potential instructions: ”I hope you
listen to it on a backroad, with the windows rolled down, she says. “Ideally, next to
someone you love.”

“I didn’t feel like I had anything out in the world that gave any real glimpse of my
potential,” she says of Forward Address.

“Writing these songs and going through the process of getting them out into the world
allowed me to learn more than I could have expected about myself and what I wanted
for my life and emboldened me to take ownership of the direction of my path. I hope this
collection of songs inspires those feelings in the hearts of its listeners.”

Rhae has appeared at numerous Texas venues, including Dosey Doe, Sam’s Burger
Joint, and McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, and has shared the stage with artists like William
Beckmann, Smithfield, Wade Bowen, and Ronnie Milsap.