Through Tragedy, Rett Madison Finds Inspiration

A lot of people have diaries or journals growing up to share secrets, write about day-to-day happenings or to process the hardships of life. For singer-songwriter Rett Madison, her diary was songwriting. It gave her a way to process her feelings and provided a tool for catharsis. 

When Madison lost her mom, she found herself processing her grief and journey of falling in love through songwriting. 

“I kind of took a step back and realized that I probably had a collection of 12 or so songs,” Madison said. “Once I noticed that there was a through line and a theme throughout the work I was making at the time, I realized I wanted to put it together for the album.” 

The album turned into her second project, One for Jackie, which was released in late 2023. Now, Madison is touring the project, which included a stop at Austin City Limits, her first time at the festival. 

“I’m just so grateful and excited to be here,” she said. “This is definitely stuff I hope to be a part of, as I’ve been on my journey for my career, to be in front of the crowds here and share some music with folks, hopefully that will be able to discover me.” 

Madison said she loves festivals because people are open to discovering new musicians they’ve never heard before. 

“That's why I’m especially excited to be here as a rising or new artist,” she said. 

For One for Jackie, Madison found herself leaning into her mother’s favorite artists — like Fleetwood Mac, Prince and Bruce Springsteen — the ones Madison grew up listening to. 

“In terms of the arrangements of the songs and the kind of style I wanted the music to be for this record, I wanted to make sure I was honoring the musical tastes of my mother,” Madison said. “I was not only leaning into music that I adored for references, but also specifically looking at stuff my mom kind of raised me on and loved herself to help influence and shape the sound of this record.” 

She knows her second record includes heavy themes of grief, sexual assault, suicide and falling in love. But Madison said it’s felt rewarding as a musician to be vulnerable and to see that her music has made people feel less alone. 

“That’s really the goal of why I make music. Any way that I can put music out that helps people feel less alone, makes me feel like I do my job,” she said.

Although her favorite parts of One for Jackie depend on her mood, her top songs at the moment are “One for Jackie, One for Crystal,” a murder ballad fueled by a rage fantasy, and “Flea Market.”

“I think [Flea Market is] pretty candid about the aftermath of what happens when you lose somebody so close to you that you love,” Madison said. 

Looking to the past for inspiration also influenced the way Madison wants to go about making her third record; currently, she’s inspired by 70s orchestral country music, like “Wichita Lineman” by Glen Campbell.  

“I don’t know what that will sound like when it’s filtered through me as an artist, but it seems like that’s a lot of what I’m hoping to be inspired by for my next body work,” she said. 

She added as she’s become an adult, she’s become very into country music and the fusion of country and folk music from the 70s “really, really resonates” with her now.