Maddie Lenhart knows pursuing country music doesn't always make logical sense.
There are empty rooms. Shows that cost more money than they make. Recording bills, travel expenses, unanswered emails and no guarantee that the next song will change anything.
Nashville country singer-songwriter Maddie Lenhart discusses her debut EP Why in the World during her Heart of the Gulch interview.
And yet, Lenhart keeps going.
Following the release of her debut EP, Why in the World, the Nashville singer-songwriter joins Heart of the Gulch to talk about what it actually takes to build an independent country music career—and why sometimes believing in something before there's evidence it will work is part of the job.
Her philosophy can be summed up in four words:
“Delusional people win.”
Inside Maddie Lenhart’s Heart of the Gulch Interview
Maddie Lenhart with host Tony Mendoza during her Heart of the Gulch interview in Nashville.
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based interview show and country music platform featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping music and entertainment. Host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Maddie Lenhart to discuss her debut EP Why in the World, “Empty Room,” “Newton’s First Law,” working with producer Brad Hill, performing at CMA Fest and the financial and emotional reality of building a country music career independently.
Why in the World
Released Oct. 2, 2026, Why in the World introduces Lenhart through six songs: “Empty Room,” “Easy on You,” “Newton’s First Law,” “Why in the World,” “It’s Not Like” and “A Glimpse of It.”
Produced by Brad Hill, whose credits include Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne, the project brings together songs about heartbreak, grief, perseverance and trying to make sense of circumstances that don't always come with answers. BroadwayWorld
Tony Mendoza, host of Heart of the Gulch sits down with Maddie Lenhart to talk about her “Why In The World” debut EP
The title track takes that idea literally.
“Why in the World” begins with questions about the natural world before turning those questions toward loss and the things in life that are much harder to explain. Lenhart co-wrote the song with Jay Knowles and Jen Stegall. BroadwayWorld
During her Heart of the Gulch conversation, Maddie explains how listeners have already begun finding their own meanings in the song—from relationships ending to losing someone they love.
And there is a reason science keeps finding its way into her music.
With a physics-teacher father and another EP song titled “Newton’s First Law,” Maddie's curiosity about how the world works has unexpectedly become part of her songwriting identity.
Playing to an “Empty Room”
Maddie Lenhart discusses the writing and creation of her 2026 debut EP Why in the World, produced by Brad Hill.
Before audiences were singing her lyrics back to her at CMA Fest, there were nights when almost nobody was listening.
Maddie wrote “Empty Room” with Justin Cross after realizing they had both experienced the same humbling reality: performing for rooms where there were few people—or where the people who were there weren't really paying attention.
That experience isn't completely behind her.
In the interview, Maddie talks candidly about still encountering difficult gigs as an independent artist and learning not to measure the future of her career by one bad night.
That makes her return to CMA Fest in 2026 particularly meaningful.
Maddie performed on the Tractor Supply Spotlight Stage for her second consecutive CMA Fest appearance, this time experiencing something very different from an empty room: people recognizing her music and singing it back to her. CMA Fest presented by SoFi
Leaving the Corporate Path for Country Music
Maddie Lenhart discusses the story and science behind Newton's First Law during her Heart of the Gulch interview.
Maddie's Nashville story didn't immediately begin with becoming a full-time artist.
After moving to Music City, she worked at SESAC while continuing to write songs. But when COVID disrupted that chapter of her life, she was forced to confront an uncomfortable realization: she had moved to Nashville to pursue music without ever completely giving herself permission to try.
Eventually, she chose the uncertain path.
Since then, Maddie has written hundreds of songs, accumulated dozens of independent cuts and continued developing both sides of her career—as an artist and as a professional songwriter.
That work is beginning to attract attention within Nashville's songwriting community. In 2026, Lenhart was selected as one of only six writers from more than 100 submissions for the AIMP Nashville Unsigned Songwriter Series and was also selected for the ASCAP GPS Project. BroadwayWorld
But those milestones haven't eliminated the uncertainty.
What Being an Independent Country Artist Actually Costs
One of the most revealing parts of Maddie's Heart of the Gulch interview isn't about a particular song.
It's about the economics behind all of them.
Maddie discusses paying to record music, traveling to shows, performing gigs that don't necessarily make money and trying to market releases without the promotional budgets available to major-label artists.
She even talks about being advised to continue releasing singles rather than investing in an EP.
She made one anyway.
For Maddie, Why in the World became something larger than six songs. She describes the project almost like a billboard for what she's capable of building independently—and an example of what might become possible with the right team and resources behind her.
That context makes the project's early recognition particularly significant. “Newton's First Law” landed on the cover of Spotify's Fresh Finds Country, while “Empty Room” received attention from Billboard and American Songwriter. BroadwayWorld
She's building proof.
“Delusional People Win”
There is no mathematical formula for knowing when an artist is close.
The next song could change everything.
Or the next opportunity.
Or the next person who walks into a songwriter round.
Or nothing could happen at all.
That's the uncomfortable reality Tony and Maddie eventually arrive at during their conversation.
Artists have to continue believing in an outcome they cannot see yet.
For Maddie, that requires a certain amount of delusion.
“Delusional people win.”
It's funny, but it also explains much of her story.
She left the predictable job. She kept playing empty rooms. She invested in an EP when conventional wisdom suggested singles. She continued writing hundreds of songs without knowing which one might open the next door.
Now people are beginning to sing those songs back to her.
What Comes Next for Maddie Lenhart
With Why in the World finally released, Maddie is already thinking beyond her debut project.
She hopes to release more music, expand her live schedule beyond Nashville and spend more time on the road in 2027.
But the foundation remains songwriting.
Whether she's asking impossible questions in “Why in the World,” turning physics into country music with “Newton's First Law” or remembering the nights when nobody seemed to be listening in “Empty Room,” Lenhart is building her career one song at a time.
And she's betting that eventually, the delusion pays off.
Watch Maddie Lenhart on Heart of the Gulch
Watch Tony Mendoza's complete conversation with Maddie Lenhart as they discuss Why in the World, “Newton's First Law,” “Empty Room,” producer Brad Hill, CMA Fest, songwriting, leaving SESAC and the realities of pursuing country music as a completely independent artist.
Listen to Maddie Lenhart's debut EP Why in the World now on Spotify, Apple Music and your favorite streaming platform.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, featuring conversations with country artists, singer-songwriters and personalities from Nashville and beyond.
