Lisa Marie Simmons Interview With Colby

Guide

Hello! What Do You Enjoy Most About Being A Musician In 2026

The sense of purpose. In 2026, with everything we’re reckoning with, white supremacy, environmental collapse, the erosion of empathy, I get to use language and music as tools for transformation. NoteSpeak is a doorway. Every performance, whether at Carnegie Hall or a small venue in Prague, is a chance to inspire reflection, to show how personal and planetary healing are interconnected. That’s what lights me up, the possibility that a song or a poem might allow someone to see themselves within it or that it might shift how they see the world or themselves in it.

Which Track Of Yours Means The Most To You?

It’s hard to choose from among my babies, but today I’m very proud of “Worm in a Book”, which holds the blueprint for how I made a life for myself. Growing up in Boulder, Colorado, in the seventies, I was called that very thing, ‘worm in a book,’ a skinny Black girl in a town that was two percent ethnic, seeking refuge in the public library.

My library card was my escape hatch, the place where I found Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, writers who planted seeds in me and made me feel less alone. Marco and I created a piece that honors those women, that alchemy of hurt into art. When it became a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, I felt like the judges looked directly at that eight-year-old girl clutching her library card and said, ‘Look at you, look what you can do.’ That worm in a book? She’s a butterfly now.

The First-Ever Gig You Played, Can You Remember It? How Was It?

Fourteen years old, singing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” at a wedding, my first paid gig. I remember the smell of roses, the weight of the microphone, the way my voice cracked before I found my footing, and thinking I might dissolve into the floor. But then I saw the bride crying, and I remembered, oh, this is what music does. It cracks you wide open. Terrifying and glorious in equal measure.

What Do You Think Is The Key To Success As A Musician?

Practice, persistence, and a thick skin, but also the willingness to trust your intuition and know your worth. Especially for women and people of color, who are often undervalued in systems built on supremacy, it’s essential to believe in yourself when the world tells you not to. And surround yourself with good people, collaborators who challenge you, who hold you accountable, who celebrate your wins and help you navigate the losses. Stay curious, stay grounded, and refuse to give up.

If You Wasn’t A Musician, What Job Would You Be Doing?

I can’t imagine another hat, and believe me, I’m already wearing enough of them. Songwriter, poet, essayist, Marco’s co-conspirator, I’m a storyteller in every medium I can get my hands on. If music were taken away, I’d still be writing, still making sense of the world through metaphor. This job chose me. I was that worm in a book, and now I get to be the one planting seeds for others.

https://www.lisamariesimmons.com