Jackson Free Press

Although Claire Holley didn't spend her childhood sitting on a picturesque front porch swapping family tales, Mississippi's culture and landscape has still managed to work its way into her pensive, country-folk music.

"There's something about here (in Mississippi)--the land and the language and the slower pace, I think, lends itself to people sitting around and telling stories," she said. "... Being in this place had a way, without my even knowing it, of forming how I tell stories."

Holley grew up in Jackson, surrounded by Mississippi's trees, open spaces and summer locusts. She attended Jackson Academy before moving away to go to Wheaton College in Illinois. Holley now lives in Los Angeles, but said moving away has helped her better appreciate some of the things that were "just givens" growing up in Mississippi.

"I think the things that you take for granted when you're growing up--like when you're driving down I-20 and there's all this open space and trees--now that I live in a big city, I realize it's not that there's just a lot of people, there's a lot of stuff," she said.

Holley has released eight albums and EPs, including a live recording of a 2005 homecoming concert at Saint Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, which she performed with fellow Mississippian Caroline Herring. Her music has appeared in independent films and ABC's "Men in Trees" and on NPR's "Weekend Edition." LA Weekly nominated her score for the play "See Rock City" for Best Original Music in 2006.

Holley and her husband Chad have two sons: Jack, 7, and Nate, 4. Holley said she sometimes feels pulled in two directions by balancing family and songwriting, but that tension can help her creatively.

"I feel like I'm a better mother if I can develop as a musician, and I feel like I'm a better musician if I can develop as a mother," she said. "... As a mother, I've had to get more focused, because I don't have as much time (for music)."

Holley will perform a benefit concert for Operation Shoestring tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Brent's Drugs (655 Duling Ave.). The concert is free, but all donations will benefit Operation Shoestring and its efforts to reduce Jackson's dropout rate and build community. The suggested contribution is $10 to $50.

For more on Claire Holley and to hear some of her music, visit her website at claireholley.com. For more information about the concert, visit the Operation Shoestring Facebook page.