<\/p>\n
\n\tWith the just-released title track of her forthcoming album, \u201cThe Me That Remains,\u201d Amy Grant<\/a> refers to the 2023 bike accident that left her with a serious head injury: \u201cLife cut me wide open \/ When my head hit the ground \/ Wasn\u2019t my time for dying \/ Guess my soul just stuck around,\u201d she sings. But she also refers to a lesser, more common disorientation probably shared by most of her contemporaries: \u201cMy face in the mirror doesn\u2019t look the same\u201d \u2014 adding that \u201cI recognize a light in my eyes that never did fade.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOne thing that seemed to have faded was Grant\u2019s aspirations as a record-maker: Her last album of new, original material came out 13 years ago. That drought is over with \u201cThe Me That Remains,\u201d a 10-song collection produced by Mac MacAnally that she\u2019ll be releasing on May 8. It will be her first record to come out through Thirty Tigers<\/a>, the Nashville-based collective. That it has no affiliation with a Christian music company per se may technically be a first, after nearly five decades\u2019 worth of crossover deals, but it won\u2019t really be a surprise to fans who have seen her express a reflectiveness that speaks to a broad audience over the better part of her 49-year recording career.<\/p>\n \n\tNot surprisingly, these recently-still waters ran deep when Grant spoke with Variety<\/em> via Zoom from her Nashville home this week to have the first detailed discussion about the new album. The record follows not just the bike accident but open-heart surgery before that, and \u201cThe Me That Remains\u201d has moments as contemplative as you\u2019d expect from someone who\u2019d been through some trauma. But it\u2019s also largely determinedly upbeat, and in conversation, she\u2019s thoughtfully unruffled and determined to foster community, not just focus on herself. (The album can be pre-ordered here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \n\tThe following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. At the end of it, you can read \u201cA Eulogy to My Younger Self,\u201d a piece of prose Grant recently wrote about what there is to be let go of in a public and private life and what, indeed, remains.<\/p>\n \n\tThis is your first album with Thirty Tigers. Does it feel good to be with a company that probably has different expectations, or maybe no expectations, of what music you should be making, and have a bit of a fresh start?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tYes. I actually met David Macias in person yesterday for the first time, after meeting him via Zoom. I love the work culture there. When he was describing different artists, he said, \u201cWe\u2019re not all the same mindset.\u201d They are such an artist-driven company. And he played me a song that was from a new project by Mike Reid and Joe Henry, called \u201cLife & Time.\u201d He said, \u201cI want you to listen to this lead vocal of a 78-year-old artist.\u201d And Mike and I wrote a song for my record, and it was so moving. The more we talked, I said, \u201cDavid, you sound like Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert when I signed with A&M Records forever ago.\u201d And he said the very first paid internship he ever had was on the A&M lot, 75 bucks a week. And I was like, oh my gosh \u2014 we cut our teeth in that same sort of culture that was not about everybody trying to be the same, but welcoming each other to the table and making music more about discovery and trying to pique people\u2019s curiosity. So I\u2019m so glad to be a part of Thirty Tigers.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s 13 years since you last made an album of new, original material. You had some serious health issues that were obviously more important than thinking about making a record. But prior to that, even, it seemed not to have been a focus for a while, while you stayed active as a live performer. What gave you the bug to think now was the time, again?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWell, there was a decade of time from 2014 on that really I poured my creative energy into an organization in Nashville called Barefoot Republic. They have summer camps, and it\u2019s a year-round program to put kids from all different socioeconomic, cultural and racial backgrounds together, so that their first experience with somebody that looks different from them is positive. Our farm hosted that camp for 10 years, and it was a 10-year commitment, really. After my bike accident, I said, \u201cI think I can do one more year,\u201d but I didn\u2019t have the bandwidth to be involved the way I was before. \u2026 I so loved it. I love the outdoors. I think people are changed by being outside, and I just love that kids would get on the bus at 8 o\u2019clock in the morning and not go back to their thermostat-controlled life until 5 in the afternoon. That\u2019s the way we were when we were kids in the summertime. I would work on that all year long, even though the camp only lasted two weeks. \u2026 And every one of us has limited resources; we just have what we have. So all my health issues brought that into sharp focus, and I had to kind of go, \u201cGod, what should I use my resources for?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSo I concluded that commitment, and then, naturally, I just leaned back into songwriting. When I had two songs, I called a friend, Mac McAnally<\/a>, and said, \u201cHey, any chance you\u2019d go in the studio with me and produce this and hire the players? I don\u2019t even know who\u2019s on the circuit anymore.\u201d That first night we did one session, and I said, \u201cMy gosh, I forgot how fun this is. I mean, this is like the most fun you can have!\u201d And he said, \u201cHey, if making music isn\u2019t fun, something is wrong with the world.\u201d Then I just kept writing, and two months went by and I said, \u201cHey, I got more songs. Any chance\u2026?\u201d And he said, \u201cI\u2019ll book a double.\u201d Another month went by. I said, \u201cHey, I got more songs.\u201d \u2026 (Eventually) he said, \u201cHey girl, you got a record!\u201d And I went, \u201cWell, it\u2019d be great if I had a record company.\u201d<\/p>\n