Mindy Gledhill was born and raised Mormon and got her start musically on a Mormon record label. It’s been a number of years since she left the church and that label, but her latest album, Rabbit Hole, addresses that personal journey. On April 19, she invites fans along for the ride as she performs songs from the album at Jammin Java. Here, she gives us a sneak peek. // 227 Maple Ave., Vienna; Doors open 6 p.m., $18-$20 –KB
What was the inspiration for this album?
The meaning behind a lot of the songs for me are basically about an existential crisis that I had, and a lot of that was tied to me leaving the faith of my upbringing. I was raised Mormon and I was very much a poster child for the Mormon church in a lot of ways, and so that was a difficult thing for me to go through publicly. That’s a very specific experience that most people on this planet will never go through, but I think all humans have to go through some sort of existential crisis. Most people get sucked into some kind of rabbit hole that turns their life paradigm upside down, and they have to see the world from different angles. It’s really disorienting, but a really surprisingly beautiful experience.
Why the name Rabbit Hole?
I found a lot of parallels in this journey with the themes in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, so there are a lot of shades of that story in the songs.
What do you like about performing at Jammin Java?
I’ve always had an amazing audience at Jammin Java. I feel like the people that come are really genuine and loyal fans, and it’s cool to see that I have fans on the other side of the country from where I am. But also, out of all the places I’ve performed at, which is a lot, I feel like the staff at Jammin Java have been the most friendly, and this is not an exaggeration at all, they just treat their artists really well.
What can people expect at the performance?
I think it’s a really soul-stirring album. I think people can expect to feel really moved by it. But also there are some songs that are really fun. There’s just a lot of unexpected surprises and turns in the album so it can take you from wanting to cry one minute to get up and dance the next.
This post originally appeared in our April print issue. Subscribe to the magazine here.
