Grammy-winning artist Sheryl Crow is opening up about the emotional and political challenges she faces while living in Tennessee… a state she says often clashes with her progressive beliefs.
In a recent interview with Variety, the 63-year-old singer revealed that despite moving to Nashville nearly two decades ago to find healing after a cancer diagnosis and a broken engagement with cyclist Lance Armstrong, her journey in the South has been far from easy.
“Tennessee has been tough,” Crow admitted. “I wake up and call my congressional representatives… Andy Ogles and Marsha Blackburn… every single morning. I feel like it’s my responsibility to speak up, especially for the future of our children.”
Though she praised Nashville as a nurturing environment to raise her two sons, the “Soak Up the Sun” singer voiced growing discomfort with the state’s conservative political climate. She fears her activism may come at a cost, particularly in a region where gun ownership is widespread.
Crow recounted a terrifying moment when an armed man made his way onto her property after she posted a video online about selling her Tesla. “It’s different now. Back when I sang about gun control in the ’90s, not everyone was carrying. But here in Tennessee, it’s a whole other reality,” she explained. “I genuinely felt unsafe.”
Still, the singer has no plans to stay silent. She credits her outspoken nature to her upbringing and her father, who she says instilled in her a strong sense of justice. “I follow in my dad’s footsteps. If I see something unjust, I feel compelled to act… even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Crow added that civic engagement, like showing up to organized rallies and making her voice heard, is the only way to challenge the influence of money in politics. “As Jimmy Carter once said, with legal bribery in politics, we can’t expect fair elections,” she emphasized. “That’s why we have to keep fighting.”
