Holly Williams adds new chapter to family's music legacy, makes Opry debut July 3

July 3, 10:28 AMNashville Country Music ExaminerLisa L. Rollins

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Holly Williams' new CD for Mercury Nashville is Here With Me.

Calling Holly Williams a "newcomer" on the country-music scene just doesn't feel quite right.

For one, how many newcomers release a debut CD on in June and then, less than a month later, announce that they'll be making their Grand Ole Opry debut?

Secondly, it just doesn't feel right using the word "music newcomer" to anyone who's the offspring of country-superstar Hank Williams Jr. and country-music legend Hank Williams Sr., respectively. ... Somehow, it just seems like direct descendants in this family who make music should get to bypass the "newcomer" label.

Nonetheless, credit by proxy for her talent is the last thing that the Williams named Holly wants. She simply won't accept it, plain and simple. And with Here With Me, her first offering for the Mercury Nashville label, she's garnered acclaim all on her own that's not merely because her DNA is the stuff country royalty is made of.

At 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 3, the traditional-meets-alt-country Holly will perform and sign autographs at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Ave. South, in downtown Nashville, where the Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy exhibit is on display through Dec. 21, 2009. Then, in the evening, she'll head to the the revered Grand Ole Opry stage to make her performance debut on the legendary stage.

As for the her new offering, which actually is her second major-label debut but her freshman release for Mercury Nashville, it's hitting hard and drawing kudos from not just critic but fans, too. The blond Williams has been penning tunes since she was 8--never mind that she still has the grade-school notebook to prove it--and her way with a lyric is not only innate, but honed.

 "I'm such a blatantly honest person,"  Holly says, "and I love to listen to an album and think the artist is truly sharing their life with me. I like to feel like I'm really getting in and knowing that person."

That said, on the 11-track Here With Me, she does just that, sharing herself via words and music on many of the CD's tracks--from "Mama," an open "thank-you song" to her mom for never making her parents' divorce bitter and choosing "to teach forgiveness."  to "He's Making A Fool Out of You," a relationship song that  lays it out about "when you know it's not right but you keep on stayin'."

July 3 show info: For more information about Holly's museum performance and autograph signing at 1:30 p.m. July 3, please call 615-416-2001 or access the CMHOF Web site. For ticket info related to her July 3 debut on the Grand Ole Opry, please call 1-800-SEE-OPRY (733-6779) or visit www.opry.com.

Holly Williams' music video for "Keep the Change," the first single from her debut Mercury Nashville CD.