Lilly Hiatt

Born on April 26, 1984, in Los Angeles, Lilly Hiatt entered a turbulent family environment. Just months after her arrival, her father John Hiatt entered rehab to address long-term alcohol dependence, and shortly afterward her estranged mother died by suicide. The family relocated to Nashville while John rebuilt his stability, and Lilly matured amid his renewed success both as a performer and as one of the leading American songwriters since the 1970s. At age twelve she received a parlor guitar from him and began writing her own material. After finishing high school locally she enrolled at the University of Denver, where she formed the band Shake Go Down with fellow students and committed to a professional music path. Her first appearance on record came in 2008, contributing backing vocals to John Hiatt’s album Same Old Man, after which she started performing with her own group.

In 2011 Lilly Hiatt & the Dropped Ponies signed with Normaltown Records, an imprint of New West Records, and issued their debut album Let Down the following year. Extensive touring, including several support dates for her father, preceded the 2015 release of Royal Blue. After overcoming her own struggles with alcohol, she channeled those experiences into the harder-edged Trinity Lane, which appeared in 2017. Continued road work and the reflections that followed each return home shaped Walking Proof, recorded with producer Lincoln Parish, formerly of Cage the Elephant, and released in 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic closed most venues. Isolated with her cat and reflecting on another faltering relationship, she composed a new batch of personal, country-leaning songs. She tracked them in 2021, resulting in the album Lately.