Photo: Submitted
Cassadee Pope spent the last two years creating a project that she said, “reveals more about me and my story than anything I’ve ever released in the past.”
Writing a single song – without a full-length record in mind -- snowballed the album-making process. Pope ultimately built her 12-track record, Hereditary, on a journey that brought her back to rock music. She chose the title after a period of self-reflection, including a personal journey of evaluating how her music aligned with her values and the work she’s done to research her family history.
“So much stuff gets passed down to us that we don’t even realize,” Pope said during a recent conversation with iHeartRadio. “And the idea of us being who we are because of the things we’ve gone through, but also the things that our loved ones have gone through before we were even here is so powerful.”
As Pope looks ahead to a chapter in her music unlike any other, she’s also taking a moment to pay tribute to an artist who helped launch her career. Blake Shelton will be honored at the 27th annual Power of Love gala on Friday (May 10), hosted at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Keep Memory Alive announced the star-studded lineup of the fundraising event last month, including Pope, Jay Allen, Colbie Caillat, Kristin Chenoweth, Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton and Gary LeVox. The philanthropic event supports the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and its efforts to support those affected by Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, multiple system atrophy and multiple sclerosis.
Pope won The Voice on the show’s third season, competing on Team Blake, Shelton “is such a huge reason I’m here and why I’ve gotten to this point in my career,” Pope said as she looked ahead to Friday’s gala. “I know so many of the performers that are gonna be there that he helped out in their careers. It’s just a really cool opportunity for all of us to get to tell a story about him, tell other people how he’s changed our lives. He’s always just been such a supporter of everyone that’s been on the show, and people off the show, too. He’s a big advocate for artists, especially up and coming artists, so it’s always nice to get to let the person know who’s helped you so much that you still are appreciative.”
“My stuff’s always personal, but this feels very revealing because I’m talking a lot about mental health and a lot about my struggles with my mental health, my setbacks, what makes me who I am. So, I think people get to know me a lot better on this record,” Pope told iHeartRadio of Hereditary. One of her favorite songs on the upcoming record, she noted, is “More To Me,” a song she wrote with songwriter friend Ali Tamposi in L.A. “Three of Us” is another track Pope pointed out for its vulnerability with a subject matter she’s never spoken about publicly, and powerful lyrics. It’s one of Pope’s latest songs to release, following “People That I Love Leave,” her revamped rock version of “Wasted All These Tears” to mark the single’s 10-year anniversary, and more. She aims to reimagine other country songs in a rock styling when she hits the road on her headlining tour this summer.
“It’s been really fun to see fans that were fans of my old band, Hey Monday, come back into the picture and say, ‘we’re so happy that you’re coming back to the genre,’ ‘we’ve missed you.’ All the stuff is fun to see,” Pope said. “And then there’s some country fans who have stuck around who have said ‘I don’t really listen to this kind of music, but I’m a fan of you and I’m sticking around,’ which is something you always wanna hear, because I remember going into country music after doing Hey Monday, and a certain number of rock fans were like ‘you made me like country music, I never listened to it until you.’ I feel like that’s happening again but in reverse, which is really cool to see.”
Hereditary is due on July 12.
July 11 - Anaheim, California - Chain Reaction~
July 12 - Los Angeles, California - The Peppermint Club~
July 13 - Mesa, Arizona - Nile Underground~
July 14 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pop Punk Summer Camp Festival
July 19 - Knoxville, Tennessee- Open Chord*
July 21 - Indianapolis, Indiana - Turntable*
July 22 -Louisville Kentucky - Headliners Music Hall*
July 23 - Albany, New York - Empire Live*
July 24 - Syracuse, New York - Funk ‘N Waffles*
July 26 - Virginia Beach, Virginia - Elevation 27*
July 27 - Durham, North Carolina - Motorco Music Hall*
July 29 - Charleston, South Carolina - Music Farm*
July 30 - Jacksonville, Florida - Underbelly*
July 31 - West Palm Beach, Florida - Respectable Street*
~Foxies opening
*Natalia Taylar opening / Foxies direct support