Hope MacGregor - Truth Teller EP (2022)

RALEIGH, NC — Hope MacGregor just released her first EP. Truth Teller, a seven-track collection, follows the arc of losing—and then finding—love. It’s a simple album; relying on just acoustic guitars, vocals, and bass, Hope strips down the complexities of heartbreak and hope to their bare bones. No doubt this is a country album. The first track should give that away: “Jolene, You Can Have Him” is a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to Dolly Parton’s canonical “Jolene.” But the storyline threading the EP together has a distinctly different flavor than the typical country-break-up album. Songs like “God Speak,” “Flannel & Pearls,” and “Truth Teller” are an exploration into a woman’s intuition, and ultimately, her strength.

Although this is her first EP release, Ms. MacGregor is no stranger to music. Her father taught her how to play an A chord on his Gibson J-45 when she was twelve and Hope took it from there. She has been writing music since the early 2000’s but put the pen and six string down for nearly a decade to serve as an active‑duty Army Aviation Officer. As a member of the West Point Glee Club, she sang with Trace Adkins at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009.

Growing up in rural Illinois, Hope had her radio dialed to 104.5 WFMB—the only country station around. But on long road trips to visit family in Oklahoma, Hope’s father played all the classics: The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Eagles, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. And you could always count on her mother’s soundtrack of country legends like Dolly, Loretta, and Patsy to fill the house on Sundays. This early music education instilled in Hope a love of storytelling through song, which shines through in her debut EP.

Two songs stand out: “God Speak” and “Ten I See.” The first is an answer to that age old question: if you could go back and do it all differently, what would you change? Hope’s response is heartfelt and honest, lamenting that avoiding all heartache is impossible. But the message is clear. If we all just listen closely to that still small voice, we will find the right answers moving forward.

The final track is just plain old fun. With a beachy vibe and flirty pick-up line as the chorus, “Ten I See” is the perfect song for summer. Thanks to the rhythmic bass line, a simple melody, and great harmonies, this one will be stuck in your head for days.