Our Terms & Conditions | Our Privacy Policy
NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox native is coming back to the ‘burbs after five years spent honing her craft in Nashville—and her best friend is coming, too.
Makena Hartlin, a 2012 Lincoln-Way grad and singer/songwriter, is set to perform at ROXY in Lockport on Friday, Aug. 15—her first time playing locally in three years.
She’s sharing the concert bill with Tabitha Meeks—a kindred aspiring artist who moved to Nashville at the same time as Hartlin, and with whom Hartlin has grown close throughout their pursuits of stardom.
Find out what’s happening in New Lenoxfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The Nashville Night” will feature the musicians with “fun retro sounds, heartfelt songwriting, piano solos and diva style vocals,” the event’s website teases. It’s set for ROXY Lockport, 1017 State St., for 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 15. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance online. An additional fee applies.
Hartlin is eager to share where her time in Music City has taken her musically and personally.
Find out what’s happening in New Lenoxfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“This is the songwriting capital of the world,” Hartlin said, of Nashville. “All the very best people live here, and the bar is just so high. You really learn how to craft a song properly when you live here. It’s finding the balance of being yourself, and seeing songwriting as a craft, and something that is objective, in a way. You have to fail at it so many times, to get good. It’s a humbling pursuit, for sure.”
Hartlin is marking his first year as an independent artist—a route chosen instead of being under a label.
“I chose that route at the beginning of this year,” Hartlin said. “I was kind of at a crossroads—could have continued with them (her old label) or not.
“I chose to take the independent path, and dive into the unknown again. Really have creative control again. You go through the wrong deal once or twice—hopefully only once, ideally none.”
She’s been putting out songs all year, she said, and the Lockport show marks another milestone for her.
“My five-year in Nashville anniversary, is the exact day of the show,” she said.
Hartlin said she’s excited to show off her storytelling abilities through her lyrics.
“The themes that I gravitate toward are the female experience in relationship,” she said. “Family, generational trauma. Personal empowerment themes in my writing, as well.
“Musically, I draw inspiration from Jackson Brown, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell. All of the great singer/songwriter today—lyricists inspire me the most. The words of songs excite me the most.”
The audience will also get a chance to experience Meeks and her “retro-pop” musings, Hartlin said. The native of DeLand, Florida had a song go viral last year, Hartlin said, earning her a billion plays across all platforms.
“‘Ready for Christmas,'” Hartlin said it’s called. “So many brands and companies were using it in their videos—that gave her catalog and career a boost.”
Her song Girl Of The Hour is gaining popularity now, Hartlin said.
With each other as support, the two women have flourished in the Nashville scene.
“We moved to town at the same time,” Hartlin said, “and we just kind of have been following our paths together. We have totally different sounds, but we’re best friends, and we help each other in this crazy career.”
Hartlin spoke of building her skill set and expanding her music library. She takes particular pride in writing her own music and lyrics.
“There’s an unpredictability and a magic to it, that always keeps you chasing it,” she said. “The thrill of writing something you’re proud of, you realize it’s worth all the troubling times. You feel yourself getting better, in little spurts.
“… When you haven’t written one that you love in more than 2 weeks, you feel like you’ll never do it again. You have to work at it for so long, to feel like it’s a muscle that you can work, before you can really trust yourself that you know what you’re doing.”
Her previous time spent on a recording contract with a label was a learning curve, she said.
“I did a record with Tyler Chester,” she said. “He won the Grammy for producing Folk Album of the Year in 2023. It was really great to work with him, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that if it wasn’t for my deal at the time. It did serve a purpose, and I learned a lot when I was in it.”
Hartlin has won acclaim with two of her songs, notably “Conspiracy Theory,” which won Songwriting Magazine’s Song of the Year in 2024.
“Makena Hartlin is a singer and songwriter with an alluring and imaginative way of telling stories through song and a voice as pure as morning dew that would stop even the most disinterested ear in their tracks,” one journalist wrote.
She also won American Songwriters Magazine’s “March Forward” contest for her song “Not Going Anywhere.” The contest sought entries written around artists following their dreams, she said.
She’s found it inspiring to be in the proximity of greatness in Nashville.
“Once you see how the community rises together, it rubs off on you in a way,” she said. “Keeps you on the grind of creativity, and writing things that inspire people. At the end of the day, a song can change the world. We forget that sometimes. Sometimes, in somebody’s life, that’s what keeps them going.
“Even if it’s just one person sometimes, it makes the whole pursuit meaningful.”
Hartlin hopes those who have known and loved her throughout her musical journey will find their way to ROXY on Friday.
“It’s like a full circle moment for me to come back and be at home, with this whole kind of other timeline that I’ve lived for the past five years—this whole other life,” she said. “Taking what I’ve learned, going back to where I came from is a really cool feeling. I want to share how I’ve grown and the things I’m proud of, with the people who have cheered me on long before I moved To Nashville.
“I love being in a room with all the people I’ve loved at different times in my life.”
Tickets are still available for The Nashville Night at ROXY.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Aggregated From –
Comments are closed.