5: Rett Madison (Rett Madison, Scary Pockets)

Unlocking the Keys…with Linc Bradham

One of the most exciting, inspirational, and special songwriters of today is Rett Madison. I first encountered Rett as the opening act for the last live show I saw before the pandemic - Theo Katzman, of Vulfpeck fame, in addition to having his own very compelling solo career - at Washington D.C.'s Hamilton Theatre. Rett performed as we've all witnessed many opening acts perform, with only her voice and a guitar. But the sound that came forward as she performed completely overshadowed the fact that the only accompaniment was her guitar playing. She commanded a presence that drew the audience in from first listen, and stood strong as its own performance aside from being an opening act. Rett's voice is one of the most unique and most powerful to ever grace a stage, and after the show I was blessed to meet Rett and have some talks about music and life. Thankfully, we've kept in touch since then and so when I was planning for the first season of Unlocking the Keys, I knew I wanted to ask Rett to be a guest. I am so grateful that she was excited to appear as well. In our time together for the show, Rett and I discussed her life, her musical influences, her adventuring to L.A. from West Virginia, and even discussed how Rett actually started as a pianist at a very young age before ever picking up a guitar!