Southern View: Holly Williams

There are few families in the country music world more filled with legend than the Williamses. Holly Williams is the granddaughter, daughter and half-sister of the most famous Hanks in the business (Sr., Jr. and II, respectively), but rather than ride the coattails of her familial success, the leggy, blonde, 32-year-old is determined to make it the old-fashioned way: with honest, hard work. Her eclectic taste (she identifies John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Gillian Welch as influences), impeccable style (find examples at her Nashville boutique H. Audrey) and melancholy wanderer’s soul are showcased beautifully on her third album, The Highway. Here, she talks about the stripped-down record that focuses on the lyrics and the stories, built upon her own close-to-the-heart experiences.