Ask Me Anything: Jon McLaughlin

IM: Are you as addicted to the show Nashville as we are? 
I did just get one of my songs on the show this fall. It’s called “Hymn for Her,” and I wrote it back in 2012, when my wife and I found out we were going to have a baby girl.

IM: How has your Hoosier upbringing influenced your music? 
The first thing I think about when I’m missing Indiana is driving through it—the backroads, the cornfields. That’s like home and heaven to me. That’s the setting I’m in when I’m writing lyrics. I think it permeates through.

IM: Which artist have you most enjoyed writing with?
Sara Bareilles is one of the most meaningful friends I’ve made through music. Also, last year, I got to play some shows with Billy Joel. After that happens, you can’t really have a bad day.

IM: Billboard said of your new album that it’s “high time” you earned your due. Do you feel like you haven’t gotten the recognition you deserve? 
Billboard, Rolling Stone—they definitely see it as, here’s this guy who has never really launched himself into that higher stratosphere where the Taylor Swifts and Ed Sheerans come from. I take it as a compliment. But personally, I’m just grateful for what I have.