Move over, strong women of country, and make way for Nashville native Jenny Tolman. With equal parts savvy and sass, Tolman’s There Goes the Neighborhood is taking Music City by storm, with Nashville Scene recently selecting Tolman’s new release as Writers' Choice “Best Country Debut Album.”
As Scene writer Brittney McKenna notes in choosing Tolman’s collection, “Nashville can be a tough town for women making country music,” but Tolman counters that dose of reality, she says, by concocting her own dreamworld, a fictional city at the heart of her debut compilation.
“[By] offering glimpses at colorful characters who speak larger truths about small-town life,” McKenna adds, “Tolman is as compelling a vocalist and songwriter as she is world-builder.”
The video for “There Goes the Neighborhood,” directed by Christina Cooper, premiered Oct. 7 on the popular website Sounds Like Nashville. Featuring personal friends of Tolman, the video takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to Jennyville, a make-believe burg full of gossipy women who are at once lovable and neurotic, catty and competitive. The object of their affection and attention is the new town hottie, though ultimately the joke is on these desperate, overly enthusiastic women.
“There’s a huge thread of self-perception and body image … and a whole take on all of society’s pressures,” Tolman says of the songs on Neighborhood. “That, to me in my life, is the most prevalent issue right now: women empowerment and women disempowerment at the same time.”
In the end, Tolman says, she takes pride in her individuality, much like the women she admires in country music—Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton—strong women who have all penned songs reflecting humor and wisdom, who confidently poke fun at themselves while firmly believing in their unique gifts.
You can catch Tolman live at the City Winery in Nashville Oct. 29 with Caitlyn Smith, The Sisterhood Band, Heather Morgan, Kree Harrison, Jenna Paulette and Lindsay Lomis. For more information, visit Jenny Tolman.