Miller
By Charlotte Caldwell
FORT LORAMIE — A Lancaster native will perform at Country Concert this year along with other native Ohio performers.
Abby Miller started performing at 7 years old when a talent show was held at her elementary school. After that, she participated in other singing contests, and when she turned 18 and graduated, she began performing at local festivals and restaurants.
Some of her accomplishments include opening for Phil Vassar at the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival, headlining her own show at the Fairfield County Fair and opening for the Black Diamond Music Festival.
“Music has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember,” Miller said. “I love creating music and sharing it with others. I love the impact music has on myself, and to be a musician whose music impacts other people is the greatest feeling a musician can have. I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”
She performs part-time; her other part-time job is working at a daycare.
“I’ve always said if it wasn’t for music, I’d be a teacher,” Miller said.
Miller is mostly self-taught with some guitar and vocal lessons taken when she was a kid. She also eventually wants to learn piano.
“I perform both covers and originals. Although I look forward to releasing new originals soon and being able to perform mostly original music at my shows,” Miller said.
She will play both originals and covers at Country Concert. Her favorite song to cover is “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” otherwise known as the song that introduced her to bluegrass, and her favorite original song is “Ain’t Worth the Fight.”
“After growing up with songs like Jolene and The Fool, that are about begging another woman not to take your man, I always wanted to write a song that said ‘if you can take him, you can have him,’ and that’s exactly what ‘Ain’t Worth the Fight’ is,” Miller said.
“A lot of my song ideas happen while I’m driving in my car listening to music that inspires me. Although I feel my most creative in songwriting when I’m writing with others,” Miller said. “The best part of being a musician is making music and seeing others connect to that music. To pour your heart and soul into a song, and see others relate and connect to it, is the greatest feeling.”
Miller competed in Get The Gig in 2023 hosted by JD Legends in Franklin and made it to the top five, which guaranteed her a spot in the lineup for Country Concert 2024.
“I was initially disappointed having had lost (Get The Gig), but making it into the final five, knowing no matter what I would get to play at the Country Concert, was one of shock and excitement. Shock because I played against incredible musicians in the competition, so to even be in the final five was an honor. Excitement because I was now to play on one of the biggest country music stages in Ohio. And on the night of Lainey Wilson, no less. It is an honor, and one I will not take for granted,” Miller said.
“I look deeply forward to playing at the Country Concert 2024, and can’t thank Country Concert enough for allowing me this opportunity, and to my mother who has supported me and believed in me through it all, even when I didn’t believe in myself,” Miller said. “And to everyone else playing at Country Concert, good luck! I can’t wait to see all of you there.”
