Lilly Hiatt

Rootsy singer/songwriter Lilly Hiatt had a lot to live up to when she chose to make music her career -- her father is John Hiatt, one of America's leading songwriters since the '70s. Lilly was born in early 1984 at a chaotic time in her family's life -- only a few months after she was born, her father checked himself into rehab to deal with a long-standing addiction to alcohol, and not long after he emerged clean and sober, Lilly's mother (who was estranged from John) took her own life. The Hiatts moved to Nashville as John set out to put his life back together, and Lilly grew up as her father began enjoying a new level of success as a musician and songwriter, as well as a new stability in his personal life. Lilly attended high school in Nashville, and later studied in Colorado at the University of Denver, where she decided she wanted to go professional as a musician. She made her recording debut in 2008, singing backing vocals on her father's album Same Old Man, and she began playing out with her own band. In 2011, Lilly Hiatt & the Dropped Ponies struck a deal with Normaltown Records, a subsidiary of New West Records, and the following year they released their debut album, Let Down. After plenty of touring (including several dates opening for her father), Lilly returned in 2015 with her second album, Royal Blue. After Hiatt herself beat a troublesome drinking problem, her experiences formed the basis of her third album, 2017's Trinity Lane. ~ Mark Deming