'It's been a wild ride': Meaghan Blanchard talks about upcoming album

Between planning her own wedding, travelling, touring andmoving into her new home, singer-songwriter Meaghan Blanchard somehow managed to finalize her next album.

"It's been a wild ride since [last]November," Blanchard toldMainstreet PEI.

She now lives in O'Leary, P.E.I., with her husbandThomas Webb.

She stopped by Mainstreetto discuss her new album and how being true to herself helped her make a special record.

The Great Escape

Blanchard's latest album,The Great Escape,was recorded in Ottawa and reflects an evolution of the sound listeners have come toknow from her previous albums.

"It's sounding really cool, it's very different from what I have done for the last two records," she said. "This isn't a country record. It's more of an alt-indie-folk kind of record."

She's unsure when exactly the album will drop, but said listeners can expect several singles to circulatethis fall.

'Being honest' with herself

The switch from a more country sound to alt-indie-folk was something she said she put a lot of thought into.

"It's funny. I was thinking about it a lot today on the two hour drive from O'Leary," she joked."It was not as conscious as I thought, to be honest. It was something I was really scared to do."

She's spent most of her career singing country and folk, influenced by what many people were telling her to do, she said. With this record, shelookedback at the music she once made and asked herself if she was truly being honest.

Trailside Cafe, Aug. 24 and25

"This record came from a bit of a cleansing and wanting to be more honest," she said. "It was really hard for me to let go of the country thing which I was doing for a while but it feels really good.

"I wanted to break out of the box andmake art and that's what I did," she added.

Islanders can get an early taste of her record this Thursday and Friday at the Trailside Cafe in Mount Stewart.

She'll be playing a "mix of everything" along with her own songsat 8 p.m. both nights.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Public trustee asked to appear before public accounts committee
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Legislative committee meetings to be live streamed this fall