Bonnie Bishop

Singer-songwriter Bonnie Bishop and producer Dave Cobb had almost finished recording her 2016 album, Ain’t Who I Was, when Cobb’s cousin Brent burst into the studio with a just-written tune he wanted them to hear. As soon as he and co-writer Adam Hood began playing it, Bishop had a “Killing Me Softly” moment, as if their fingers were strumming her fate — or at least, her manifesto. 

In what became the album’s title track, she sings, "Lord I’m finally proud of who I am now/Thank God it ain’t who I was," her soulful, dusty-ish voice simultaneously mingling the weariness of struggle, the relief of confession and the power of renewed hope.

Turns out that optimism was well placed; "Ain’t Who I Was" has earned Bishop the best reviews of her career. The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Billboard and Rolling Stone delivered praise; the Nashville Scene called it brilliant, noting, “A gifted songwriter and a powerhouse singer, her voice booms with the force of a Texas straight-line squall.” American Songwriter observed, “Her vocals mix the Southern sass of Shelby Lynne with the guts of Susan Tedeschi, leaving room for a fair amount of Bonnie Raitt-styled grit and gumption.” No Depression asserted, “If we can go ahead and choose the BEST album of the year, it's clearly Bonnie Bishop's.” Lonestar Music magazine added, “Bonnie’s brilliant voice makes this gut-punching record a seamless triumph.” And in her childhood hometown, the Houston Press anointed her as the “new queen of country soul.”  

Bishop had had a pinch-me moment when Bonnie Raitt recorded song she’d co-written, “Not Cause I Wanted To.” Then it topped the New York Times’ Song of the Year list, and the album it was on, Slipstream, won a Grammy. She also watched actor Connie Britton perform another of her tunes, “The Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts,” on the hit TV show Nashville. But after five albums of her own and 13 grueling years on the road, Bishop left Nashville behind. 

In 2017, Bishop’s roots called her home to Texas. She has since settled back in Fort Worth, but as Nashville’s establishment and legions of roots-music fans, are now well aware, she ain’t who she was. In fact, the self-described “singer/songwriter/storyteller” has not only spun failures into success she couldn’t fathom just a few years ago, she’s vastly expanded her creative pursuits.

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