It’s a time of intense self-discovery for Whitney Mongé. 

“I’ve been playing guitar for a long time, but Nashville has forced me to become a better player,” says Mongé, fresh off her first full-band show at Analog at Hutton Hotel in Nashville. For the 38-year-old artist, the move to Tennessee caps a stretch of constant change—from the Pacific Northwest to Arizona, then North Carolina, and now Nashville, a city she never expected to call home.

“I feel like Nashville’s always been on my radar just because of the style of music that I do, but I’ve kind of stayed away from it for years,” she says. “I am quite the rebel when it comes to the music industry, and I try to do it my way, which is sometimes not conventional. Nashville just kind of embodies so much of the industry that I haven’t really wanted to be a part of until now.” But since settling in, the city has started to win her over. “I really do think there’s a balance between being an independent artist and building a team, and mirroring other creatives,” she says. “Nashville is full of people who are not just wrapped up in fame and fortune, per se, but are all about creating. It’s pushed me to collaborate more, co-write more, and to look at ways I can tell my story better.”

Her story, of course, started long before Nashville. Mongé built her career in the Emerald City, performing as a street musician at Pike Place Market, where her soulful voice and songwriting caught the attention of passersby. “I loved cutting my teeth in Seattle,” says Mongé, who moved from Spokane to Seattle at age 20 to study audio engineering at The Art Institute of Seattle. 

“Seattle is a great incubator for artists, especially in the timeframe I was there, which was pre-smartphone and pre-social media,” she says. “I felt like I could breathe there. I miss the relaxed feeling. I miss the culture. I miss the music. I miss my friends. I miss the beauty. It’s the most beautiful city in the world. There’s so much about it that I love that I definitely miss, but I’m also not quite ready to go back and live there, if that makes sense.”

Even with that longing, Mongé says she’s finding a new rhythm in the South—one rooted in growth and hard-earned self-assurance. “I’ve really gone through a lot of stuff in the last few years,” says Mongé, who lost her mother to cancer in 2020. “Moving across the country to continue pursuing my music has been the most cathartic way to honor my mother, who has always wanted to see me rise to the top. I feel like I’m at a place where I’m open to experiencing how good life can be rather than anticipating when the next shoe is going to drop.”

These days, Mongé continues to add dates to her touring schedule and she’s exploring what it means to connect with audiences in a new city while carrying the lessons of Seattle with her. “I take pride in my performances—in the way that I know how to pull people in,” she says. “I learned that at Pike Place Market. It’s such an interesting magic trick. I feel like if I describe it, I’ll ruin it,” Mongé laughs. “How can you bring somebody to a point of presence, especially when they’re not expecting it? That’s the most magical element—when people aren’t really expecting it to happen in a space like an airport or on a street corner or in a rowdy bar. It’s those moments when no one’s paying attention—that’s where the magic actually lives. Real artistry isn’t about approval, it’s about true human expression, whatever the outcome.”