After losing her grandfather, Knoxville singer-songwriter Lily Hooten began working through questions that don’t come with easy answers: What can we hold onto? How do we live with loss? And how can faith help us appreciate the life still unfolding around us?
Those questions helped shape “Promise Land,” the 21-year-old’s debut solo album, scheduled for release Nov. 13 through Anotherland.
The 10-track contemporary Christian project brings together grief, hope and the beauty of ordinary life. Producers David Leonard, Brad King and Collin Healer worked with Hooten on an album rooted in personal storytelling and a folk-influenced sound.
“I think the promised land is more than a place we are going. It is a promise that changes the way we live while we wait,” Hooten said in the album announcement.
For Hooten, looking toward heaven does not mean looking past the people and experiences here. Her songs explore how sorrow can sharpen an appreciation for everyday moments and how faith can make room for honest questions.
“I wrote them because I want to live awake to the beauty of this life without forgetting the life to come,” she said.
Two previously released singles introduce those themes.
“Come Meet the Man” draws inspiration from the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4. The song considers the search for fulfillment through achievement and self-reliance, then turns toward the possibility of being loved without having everything figured out.
“Push and Pull” explores the space between faith and doubt. Written with friends during a rainy afternoon in Nashville, it draws on Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones brought back to life. The song grew from a conversation about personal struggles and the pressure to appear put together.
A singer-songwriter and worship leader with a missionary upbringing, Hooten describes her music as “letters to Jesus,” turning personal prayers into songs.
Her work has already drawn attention beyond East Tennessee. According to the announcement, “Come Meet the Man” was featured on Spotify’s All New Christian & Gospel playlist and Apple Music’s New In Christian playlist.
Hooten also plans a 10-date tour beginning Nov. 8 in Knoxville, with stops in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida before concluding Nov. 19 in Chattanooga. The announcement does not yet provide a Knoxville venue or showtime.
At the center of the album is a young local artist learning to carry grief while remaining open to joy—and making music for others trying to do the same.
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