Article by Laura Ray

Western Kentucky native and three-time IBMA Bassist of the Year Vickie Vaughn releases her first full-length solo record, ‘Travel On,’ on Friday, November 21st. The powerhouse vocalist and accomplished songwriter debuted her new LP at the Kentucky Opry before the official release party at the Station Inn in Nashville.

Born to Play Bluegrass

Born and raised in the Bluegrass state, Vickie Vaughn grew up singing at churches, community events, and onstage at the Kentucky Opry in Benton, KY. She worked at the theater every weekend as a full-time background vocalist and featured performer from the age of nine until she moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University’s Vocal Performance Program. She picked up the bass at the Opry, while Belmont schooled her in the art of singing without hurting her voice. According to Vaughn, growing up onstage gave her a leg up on other music students, who hadn’t yet learned Nashville time or how to direct a band.

Vaughn cofounded and recorded four albums with the super-trad group, High Fidelity. In 2015, she recorded a six-song EP of contemporary bluegrass, produced by Ronnie McCoury under the Vickie Vaughn Band moniker, titled ‘Buy All the Roads.’ Meanwhile, she has served as a vocalist and/or bassist for artists such as Patty Loveless, Kelsey Waldon, and many more. About five years ago, Vaughn joined the Grammy-nominated all-female stringband, Della Mae.

Grindstone Cowgirl

For the time being, Vaughn juggles touring with Della Mae and her budding solo career, finding time in between to gig with other bands around Nashville, playing “city bass” with her country band at Dee’s Lounge, or contributing to someone else’s ensemble. No stranger to the studio, Vaughn appears on Wes Corbett’s recently released ‘Drift,’ which Sam Bush dubbed the “best instrumental album” of all time at CaveFest. She even finds time to give back to the community, hosting a weekly Ladies’ Night showcase of local country singer/songwriters at Bobby’s Idle Hour Tavern. It seems all her hard work has paid off – Vaughn was just named IBMA Bassist of the Year for the third consecutive year!

Community Collaboration

From jamming to festivals, “bluegrass thrives on community,” Vaughn recently told Chattanooga’s NPR station, WUTC. Vaughn’s community, from producers to players, came together to help bring her brand new solo effort, ‘Travel On,’ to fruition. Long-time friend and award-winning fiddler, Deanie Richardson of Sister Sadie, was the one who convinced Vaughn to record her first full-length solo album after she took home the IBMA title the first year. Vaughn took this as an opportunity to put her friend in the producer’s chair, which was a first for Richardson, who cowrote “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday.” And what better label to put the new LP out on than Mountain Home Music Company, the same one that reps Sister Sadie.

Vaughn invited all her friends to play on the record as well, including her buddy Casey Campbell on mandolin, Corbett on banjo, IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Cody Kilby of the Travelin’ McCourys on guitar, Dave Racine on drums, Frank Rische and Lillie Mae providing sibling harmonies, and one of her besties, Justin Hiltner singing harmony on “She’s On My Mind” and “Travel On.”

Stellar Songwriting

Vaughn describes this record as one “you want to put on while weeding your garden, riding your bike down a backroad, hanging out with your cousins in your uncle’s truck bed on the way to Dairy Queen, and coming out of your speakers when sipping wine from a Mason jar.”

Back in March, we were treated to the first single, a bluegrass-flavored version of “Leavin’” by Texas singer/songwriter Bruce Robison. Next came a gender-bending cover of Vince Gill’s “Liza Jane.” Vaughn is unafraid to sing from the male perspective, covering songs such as “Lone Pine Hill” by the late Justin Townes Earle. Her Kentucky Opry release show ended with a performance of “King of the Road.” She sees it as taking a little power back from patriarchy.

I remember hearing “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday” at ROMP back in 2024. Vaughn sees songwriting as cathartic and alchemized her grief for her father into a beautiful tribute to her mother, which was released as the third single last summer. Finally, the title track, “Travel On,” written by fellow Western Kentucky native Nathan Blake Lynn of The Wheelhouse Rousters and featuring Ronnie McCoury, was released in September.

Heartache is a theme throughout, with songs such as “She’s On My Mind,” “Sleepin’ in the Rain,” and “Still in Love.” Grammy-nominated guitar player/producer/songwriter and 2021 IBMA Songwriter of the Year, Thomm Jutz, cowrote “Bottle of Wine,” about drowning one’s sorrows with booze. Even the incredibly catchy ‘90s country-sounding “When Love Comes Knockin’” is about slamming the door in the face of love before finally re-opening it again. That may have been the case for the 36-year-old, who has been in a relationship with fellow musician Jack McKeon for the past few years. What ties the album together is Vaughn, who describes her debut as a “true, long-awaited introduction.”

I’m Friends With Vickie

To know here is to love her. Vaughn has never met a stranger, a trait she says she inherited from her daddy. Shirts and hats that proclaim the wearer is “friends with Vickie” are available on her website, vickievaughn.com. Having built such a formidable reputation as a singer/songwriter, badass bassist, and grindstone cowgirl extrodinaire, Vaughn is at the forefront of the roots resurgence, shining like a bright star over Music City.

Listen to her first full-length solo record, ‘Travel On,’ wherever you stream, and catch her on tour this year and next!  [Listen Here]