Priscilla Block is an Open Book on Her Debut Album, ‘Welcome to the Block Party’

Block promises the album has “all the trash, all the sass and all the sad” and she certainly delivers.

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

February 11, 2022

10:05 am

Priscilla Block; Photo by Logen Christopher

When Priscilla Block moved to Nashville in 2014, she set her sights on one day releasing an album. Now, nearly eight years later, Block’s dream has become a reality with the release of her 12-track debut, Welcome To The Block Party.

The album is a culmination of years of hard work, putting in her time in Music City as a songwriter and artist. With every track co-written by Block, Welcome To The Block Party tells her personal stories of heartbreak, triumph and independence and offers fans a glimpse into who she is behind the scenes.

Priscilla Block - Welcome to the Block Party — Priscilla Block – Welcome to the Block Party

While songs like the title track and “Thick Thighs” showcase Block’s light-hearted side, she truly shines when she digs deep and tugs at the emotions. This is evident on the autobiographical “I Know A Girl,” featuring guest vocals from Hillary Lindsey.

“It’s very much of my life,” Block tells Country Now of the track she co-wrote with Lindsey and David Garcia. “When we wrote this song, we just got to talking about my childhood and why I am the way that I am. I think that’s a piece of my life that I had never really written before, so it was cool to just write it out on paper.”

Though she admits she was “quite terrified” to get in the writing room with hit songwriters like Lindsey and Garcia, Block says the lyrics fell into place quickly.

“Hillary just started asking me about my life… and the song just fell out of the air,” she recalls. “I’m such a big fan of hers and I felt like it – it made perfect sense to have her on this song.”

She describes the finished product as “the older sister talking to the younger me” and says she’s “obsessed” with the way it turned out.

Another emotional standout is “Like A Boy.” It’s the track Block says she’s most excited for fans to hear.

Like many of her songs, “Like A Boy” was inspired by a breakup, but this one is “really special” as it was inspired by advice her father once gave her.

“I remember when I wrote this song, I had a flashback to my dad saying, ‘you know, a man… a man won’t walk away,” she remembers, adding, “I was going through a really hard breakup and it was kind of the moment that I was able to kind of let that feeling go – you know? There was just something that was really freeing when I wrote that song.”

Block promises the album has “all the trash, all the sass and all the sad” and she certainly delivers. The sass, and her ‘90s/early 2000s country influences, shine on the confident “Ever Since You Left” – a breakup anthem that packs a punch like songs previously released by some of her heroes like Jo Dee Messina and Gretchen Wilson.

Funny enough, she was listening to a Luke Combs’ “Beer Never Broke My Heart” just before the songwriting session.

“I just like songs that are kind of like girl power songs,” she explains. “I walked in there and I was like, ‘guys, we need to write a country girl power, like, ‘I’m good actually, your loss for leaving’ type song’ and I think that we really landed it that day.”

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Block had “full creative control” on the project and had a hand in developing everything that goes along with the album, including the packaging. The color blue that fans see intertwined throughout the album and all of Block’s social media accounts and merch? She had a hand in that, too.

“Blue is very much of the way that I was feeling when I wrote these songs. Blue is my favorite color,” she reveals. “I love themes with albums. I think there’s something really cool in that. I think to my favorite albums of my favorite artists and there’s always something that I’m like, ‘oh my gosh, that was this era.’ And so everything in this album is blue and I want it to be something that you hear, but when you hear, it, you also see blue.”

Following the release of the album, Priscilla Block will embark on her first-ever headlining tour, aptly titled the Welcome To The Block Party Tour. With shows planned through late April, the North Carolina native is ready to give fans the full “Block Party experience.”

“I want it to be an experience,” the ACM New Female Artist of the Year nominee teases. “Even if I’m playing clubs, I want outfit changes, I want it to feel like something that they’ve never seen on a small stage.”

Welcome To The Block Party is available to stream/purchase HERE.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.