Finding Persistence with Luke Pigott
Musician Luke Pigott recaps on how 2020 helped him grow as an artist and looks to the road ahead.
When Scenic Trend last spoke with Luke Pigott over a year ago, he had begun focusing more on his music and less on his career in the coffee industry. One month later, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Chattanooga, but despite all of the challenges it brought, Luke was able to stay dedicated to and further his music career.
The main way Luke managed to stay productive in 2020 was through pushing himself to better manage his free time. He replaced his moments of relaxation with practice sessions, built a new routine to focus on his music, and worked on overcoming his greatest weakness: his self-criticism.
“My real struggle right now is getting stuck in my own head,” Luke said. “I need more tangible feedback to help in keeping my practice sessions productive.”
In October, Luke recorded guitar tracks for his friend Eric Krewson’s band, The Chairman Dances. He is excited to already be working on another album and is enjoying teaming up with and learning new techniques from others. He said that working with The Chairman Dances has especially helped him learn ways to continue creative collaboration online.
Luke said that, so far, 2021 has led him to notice more local allies of creatives and that it has sparked new inspiration. He began working with local music supporters Music Is Our Medicine to get his music put onto playlists, and working with them has encouraged Luke to continue looking for more opportunities.
This led to him applying to SoundCorp’s Bandwidth program, a new program that assists local musicians in creating live-streamed performances. With the help of local creatives Bryant Hawkins and Sarah Manser, Luke came up with the idea to turn his performance into a story, filling the visual space he was given with visual clues about the story he told. Luke was surprised by how immersive the digital livestream experience could be and hopes to explore it further.
Dream Operator, Luke’s latest album, has been acquired by Church Bake Sale Records, a label based out of Portland, Ore. Luke is hoping to announce more releases and projects with them soon.
“The theme for me lately has been that it isn’t always easy to create right now with everything that’s going on, but people want to help,” Luke said. “You can do a lot with the tools that we do have, so don’t give up hope. Find a crew of inspiring weirdos and don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. So just don’t give up!”
Luke’s music career is not the only area of his life that grew in 2020; he also got married, and he announced that he was starting a new coffee business that will be tied into his music. He feels that the lines between work, family, friends, and art have all been blurred and are becoming one big process that defines him, much like how he blurs the line between dream and reality in his music.
Luke said that he is overall satisfied with the direction his career has gone. He feels that he has spent the last year going deep into himself and learning more about the kind of artist he wants to be.
Make sure to keep up with Luke on Instagram!