Lindsay Ell learns to trust her gut as she chases country music stardom

When Lindsay Ell gave the valedictorian address for the Bishop Carrol High School Class of 2006, she encouraged her classmates to follow their dreams and pursue a career that makes them happy. “Be so passionate about what you’re doing for a ‘job’ that it doesn’t feel like work anymore, because then you’re going to be able to work harder at that than anything else,” she told them.

Now a country music star, Lindsay has taken her own advice. “Everything Lindsay does is 110-per-cent energy and focus,” says her mom Suzanne, an archives specialist with Archives and Special Collections at the University of Calgary. And now Suzanne is watching as all her daughter’s hard work pays off.

This year, Lindsay made history as her single Criminal became the first #1 hit on the Canadian country music charts by a Canadian female artist in 10 years. Not only will Lindsay open for country music superstar Keith Urban at the Saddledome on Sept. 23, she performed at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Hamilton, Ont. last night where she was nominated for Best Female Artist of the Year and Best Album of the Year, for The Project.

Strong musical roots, high academic expectations  

Lindsay was just 10 when she wrote her first song, a love letter to her parents, “because what else are you going to write about when you’re 10 years old?” says the singer.

Lindsay grew up surrounded by family playing music with a number of different instruments. Says Suzanne, “On my husband’s side, both his parents were very musical playing bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, fiddle, mandolin and flute. On my side, my father was a wonderful pianist.”

Lindsay started playing piano at six and picked up the guitar at eight. “From an early age I fell in love with the stage and creating songs,” she says.

The Ell family set a high academic standard for Lindsay and her older brother Shawn, who graduated from the Haskayne School of Business. Lindsay followed in his university footsteps because, she reasoned, a business degree could help her musical career. “I am passionate enough about the music side of it to learn that on my own. But I could definitely use some help on the business side of it,” she thought. Lindsay learned how to hone her teamwork and communication skills at Haskayne.

Juggling university classes and a demanding musical career

But juggling five courses a term while playing shows and hopping on planes for songwriting sessions was a “wild ride,” remembers Suzanne. “Because of her wanting to get an A average, we could see it was causing a lot of stress on her. We didn’t say anything. We wanted her to come forward, and she did.”

Eventually, Lindsay sat down with her parents and told them she couldn’t do university and pursue a career in music at the same time. “It was one of the hardest decisions,” she says. “It was in my second year of Haskayne and I was missing classes because I was on the road, I was trying to travel for shows and I was missing mid-terms.”

Lindsay left university and enrolled full time in the “School of Randy.” Canadian rock ‘n’ roll legend Randy Bachman met Lindsay when she was 13 after a mutual friend gave him a recording of her. “I heard this incredible guitar playing and I said, ‘You’ve given me the wrong CD,’” Bachman recalls. “My friend said, ‘No that’s her.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding, she’s playing that song better than I can play it.’”

Advice from a Canadian rock 'n' roll veteran

Over the years, Bachman has given Lindsay scads of advice, from professional (always be on time and treat every opportunity with respect) to personal (don’t drink and stop eating sugar). “I said to her, ‘If you do all these things, it’s only a matter of time.’ Literally everything I told her, she did.”

The two have collaborated on plenty of projects. “We’ve had some false hopes and starts,” Bachman says. “She stands on a table and sings in a (record company’s) office and they say we’re going to sign you and you never hear from them again.”

Lindsay, who moved to Nashville in 2010, admits the road to success has been bumpier than she had expected. But she wouldn’t change a thing. And her mentor couldn’t be prouder of her success: “I’m hoping to get a song on her next album,” says Bachman.

From Calgary to performances all over North America and Europe 

Amongst it all, Lindsay found the time to complete a master’s certificate in guitar and songwriting with the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.

Suzanne has cheered her daughter on countless stages, from playing in the living room to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to stadiums all over North America and Europe. Yet she’ll never forget watching Lindsay “captivate the audience” with her valedictorian address, and thinking: “This sweet little girl of ours is all grown up and going to do some amazing things with her life.”

If she were back on that high school stage, Lindsay would still say “follow your dreams” but she would add “trust your gut.”

“As you get knocked down a couple of times, that voice becomes even louder,” says the country music star. “Learn to trust yourself because you’re a lot smarter than you think you are.”