Born in Atlanta and raised in Jonesboro, Ga., to a family of nine children that had little exposure to music apart from a church hymnal, Molly Parden’s career in music is something that happened to her more than it was anything she set out to achieve. When none of her siblings took a particular interest in music at a young age, Parden inherited a violin built by her great uncle. Since relocating to Nashville in 2013, she has toured the world as a bassist, guitarist, and singer.
In November 2020, Parden released her EP, Rosemary, a collection of six songs. We think she’s an artist to keep an eye on in the future, so we touched base with her to find out 5 Things You Didn’t Know.
1) I don’t like condiments. I want my food to be either dry or wet, none of this in-between business. If it’s soup, you need to be wet and hot. If it’s cereal, wet milk all the way through. If it’s a sandwich, let the food juice saturate the bread. No fake juice for me.
2) I love kids. I think they are marvelously complex, and I do my best to be one every day. I’m reading several parenting and child psychology books currently and reflecting a lot on generational upbringings. Helps me have a lot of compassion for people.
3) I want to open a coffee shop that serves mostly only Ethiopian naturals. My shop will serve beans roasted by coffee shops that I visited in my touring days (RIP!). I’ll decorate the shop very similarly to the way my home is decorated. Some people will really hate it. Some people will be obsessed with it.
4) My singing voice was on a Jeep commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2015.
5) The first concert I remember seeing was at the Georgia Dome to see Carman. I sat on my dad’s shoulders at one point.
Take a look at the latest Molly Parden video, “Who Are We Kiddin'”