On October 2, 2026, American Blonde released its first EP with Lincoln Parish, a Grammy-nominated producer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a founding member of Cage The Elephant. Delta Home is Mississippi-born sisters Nata and Tinka Morris’ gritty sonic homecoming. The music has a hard-driving Delta foundation bolstered by swampy rock and country that is delivered with a raw and rootsy punch. The scathing authenticity of Nata’s rugged vocals bleeds from the soul of the sound, creating a rousing, rowdy roar of Southern exuberance.
In-Depth Interview with American Blonde’s Nata & Tinka Morris
In this interview, Entertaining Options asked both Nata Morris (lead singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar) and Tinka Morris (drummer/vocals) questions about a wide variety of topics to get a comprehensive understanding of who the band is and how they function as both a musical and a social unit.
From Kids to Professional Musicians
Entertaining Options: How did you get to where you are now? Could you give us a highlights reel of the essential moments that brought you from kids to professional musicians?
Nata Morris: This is such a great question! Well, our love for music really did start at a young age. Not only did we grow up with a turntable in our kitchen playing all of the classics from country to rock’ n’ roll, but we also grew up in the Mississippi Delta (the birthplace of all America’s music). There were blues musicians playing in our local restaurants and Blues markers full of history scattered throughout our town. [Blues markers are plaques that help preserve the cultural history of the Mississippi Blues Trail]
We had a piano in our childhood home, so we all started taking piano lessons around 5 years old. I remember taking a liking to it very quickly, playing classics during Chapel at our elementary school almost every Friday, piano recitals, etc.
Then when I turned 8 or 9 years old, I found an old Taylor guitar in Dad’s closet and eventually taught myself how to play. (Thank you, YouTube. Haha.)
Shortly thereafter, Tinka wanted to learn how to play an instrument too and had a passion for the drums. She’s always had incredible rhythm and a talent for singing the harmonies along to any song on the radio. We started a band playing anything from modern country music to classic rock music.
A few years later we ended up entering a music competition called The Texaco Country Showdown, where we landed a spot in the finals and performed on the stage of The Ryman Auditorium. I’d like to think that moment really sparked the passion to start taking music seriously. That opened so many doors to landing opening slots on many festivals with some pretty incredible headliners, which eventually got me thinking that we needed to write some songs and record an album.
I could talk for hours about the many memories we made learning how to be road warriors, co-writing with other songwriters in town, and bringing the music we love to life together. We truly have had so many good memories, even through the ups and downs of the industry and curveballs that life threw our way.
EO: Was your family supportive of your music?
NM: Our parents were so supportive. Even though they didn’t know anything about playing music or what the industry was like. I just remember us being kids and wanting to play, and they let us set up a drum kit, guitar amps, and microphones in the living room, and we played whenever we wanted for as long as we wanted. Our parents always told us that no matter what we wanted to do, they would always love and support us, which, looking back, is honestly so sweet. To this day, they are still our biggest fans.
EO: Why is music important to you?
NM: Music is so important to me on many levels. For starters, I was just a very shy kid. When I started playing and performing on stage and having to speak to crowds, I slowly started to come out of my shell. Writing and performing have taught me how to find confidence in myself, and it is the one true outlet where I feel I can express myself. I have an incredible job as a full-time artist in a band — what could be better than that?
The Music & The Songwriting
EO: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you?
Tinka Morris: We like to describe our music as a hard-driving blend of country and rock, steeped in the raw spirit of the blues, which we were raised on. It’s the sound of Mississippi Delta roots, country storytelling, and rock ‘n’ roll grit with a swampy, raw edge of the blues running through it all.
EO: How about the music on your new EP, ‘Delta Home?’
NM: The music on Delta Home is raw, electric, gritty, soulful, and honest.
EO: How does a songwriting session typically go?
TM: Our songwriting sessions up until the point of us creating our EP have usually always gone as such: 1) Natalia writes a piece of material with a co-writer, or sometimes by herself. 2) Natalia brings the song(s) to me (Tinka) for us to work through/create base level harmonies and establish a percussive rhythm. 3) We then take our rough draft of the original to the band and add in tasteful guitar parts and bassline — sometimes even adding our bass player Will’s lower harmony parts.
However, since working up our EP together as a band family, we’ve all started doing the entire writing and song-creating process together, step by step from the very beginning of coming up with the ideas, melodies, and lyrics. It’s all hands on deck now, and we couldn’t be happier with how much fun we are having with everyone being more involved in the whole process.
NM: Usually, I am the principal songwriter and collaborate with other co-writer friends of mine. I’ll have the lyrics and chord progression done, and then take it to the band to help give the song some life. Tinka is a melody and harmony queen, so her role usually entails helping me come up with better melody lines and finding harmony parts for her and our bass player Will. Then we sit down together as a band and dissect each section, coming up with guitar parts and moments throughout the song to give it more structure.
If we really love the new original, we call our producer Lincoln Parish to come over and do a pre-production with us before taking it into the studio, where even there we still come up with new parts and get even more creative.
Lately though, the band and I have been writing music together, which honestly has become a new favorite process of mine. While writing lyrics, we are actively coming up with the instrumentation, which has helped inspire the most incredible lyrics as well. We actually just finished recording our last song we wrote together and look forward to releasing it next year. We are constantly growing and experimenting together as a band. I can’t wait for our next writing session.
EO: When you go into the studio, does anything change?
NM: Oh, yes! And it always changes for the better, even when we didn’t know it was possible. There is something special about being together in a room full of creatives, where sometimes the moment inspires an incredible guitar solo or lyric change.
EO: Which song changed the most once you started laying down tracks?
NM: I personally think that the song “Delta Home” was one of the ones that changed the most. When we started live tracking it and later moved on to building the solos, we all just kept wanting to add more instruments to help bring out the blues, country AND rock influences that the song portrays. Lincoln asked if he could call his buddy Kelby Cladwell to swing by and lay down some pedal steel, and that was a game changer. I think one of the craziest ideas was when Lincoln handed Zach and Will a baritone bass, and it really changed the song.
The Social Dynamics of American Blonde
EO: Who has veto power if there’s something that doesn’t feel right about a song?
NM: To be completely honest, a majority of the time, our whole band and team is on the same page with decisions that we make. However, if it really came down to it, Tinka and I would have the final say.
EO: What if you don’t agree?
TM: If there is ever a disagreement between the band members, we usually just end up settling with the majority vote after a long call or in-person discussing pros and cons!
EO: I could be wrong, but Nata seems like the “Band Mom” in all the best ways. She seems to be a deep soul who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, but doesn’t let it show. Is this accurate?
NM: Haha, you have some pretty impressive observation skills. As the older sister, I do have the tendency to always want to take care of everyone while also keeping work efficient and fun! I never really knew if that showed or not, but I like to think that I am naturally just a happy person and try to do my best and carry a smile even through the hardest of days. I actually even wrote a song about letting the mental load weigh me down a few years ago. [You can listen to “Happy” on Spotify.] It did eventually affect my physical and mental health to the point where I wasn’t even able to take care of anyone else for a while. Thankfully, I have an incredible family and support system and was able to get my health back on track, but it did teach me a lesson to start taking better care of myself so that I am able to care for and show up for others!
EO: What about everyone else’s roles in the band? I don’t mean musical roles. Is there someone who is the cheerleader? Someone who is the cynic? Someone who is pragmatic? Someone who is a dreamer? That kind of thing.
TM: I love this question, haha! In terms of personality roles, I would 100% say that Natalia is our cheerleader. Without a doubt, she is truly the glue that holds this band together! She is our mom and our manager, haha! Her duties in the band include posting/keeping up with socials, booking shows, chief songwriter, booking accommodations and transportation for the band when we go on the road. And she is also a personal-therapist to all band members (lol).
Now, I (Tinka) am the double-sided “wild card” of sorts in our band — I’m always acting as the optimistic hype-girl and an honest cynic! Which side of the card I play just depends on the day, but sometimes I can be both delusionally optimistic and think cynically at the same time. I also handle our website and merchandise!
Will [Garrett – bass and background vocals] is our Fix-It Felix and silly-goose of the group. He keeps the laughs coming constantly and also helps with fixing or tuning up gear including drums and our in-ear monitor rack system! Every single time that someone in the band needs some random piece of equipment at the last minute (whether we’re in the middle of rehearsal or at a show), Will is guaranteed to have it in his magical Mary Poppins of a car. He is always helping the bandmates out when we need it most!
Zach [Dickerson – lead and rhythm guitar] is like our dad. He always keeps us on our toes by making sure rehearsals are productive and helps with everything, including booking shows and communicating with venues and promoters. He is also our musical arranger and co-writer/composer.
Pete [Horne – lead and rhythm guitar] is the longest-standing member of American Blonde. He has been with me and Natalia since our very beginning in the music industry. He is everything to us — the dreamer, the hype man, the comedian, the shoulder to cry on, and the person we go to when we need a pick-me-up. Pete is a huge contributor to the band’s graphic designs. He is an extremely talented and professional painter/artist. Pete hand-painted the cover art for our Delta Home EP.
EO: Is there a special band moment that you will carry with you no matter where your career leads?
TM: There are so many special moments we share together as a band that we’ll never forget and are so grateful for. One of my personal favorites was when we were all getting ready for our first Delta Home EP single release party for “Mississippi Moonshine” in the green room at Ground Zero in Biloxi, Mississippi. We were sharing laughs, reminiscing about the project we created, and snapping Polaroid pictures — which we then signed and added to the personalized goody bags that we had made for our fans and families that had come out to support us that night. I remember the whole show just feeling so right, and we were all definitely on cloud nine through the entirety of the event.
Closing Words & Advice for Aspiring Artists
EO: Why do you continue to make music as an adult? What do you hope to give your fans?
NM: Music is one of the most beautiful ways to express yourself. Whether you’re writing, recording, performing, or even just listening to it, you escape to a whole other world where nothing else that is going on really even matters in that moment. Music is a language that somehow we can all speak and feel at the same time. All I could ever hope for is that the music we make helps someone else feel something and have a special connection.
EO: What advice do you have for someone who wants to do what you do?
NM: Don’t go into the industry thinking that it is really all about talent. It is a full-time job that requires knowledge in many areas. I would say it is definitely beneficial to study up on social media, touring, artist managing, music promoting, budgeting, and studying the art of the live show! And sometimes, no matter how long and hard you work on all of this, you do have to be okay knowing that not every single person is going to love your songs, want to come to your shows, and that everything will just “work out.” Make sure you really do it for the love of writing and performing, because it is definitely not an easy industry.
We creatives are very driven, yet sensitive. So it is really easy to overwork yourself and feel like a lot of your hard work has gone unnoticed. There are also a lot of people who want to tell you who to be, so just remember why you wanted to play music in the first place and never let that go. Put it in everything you do. Be yourself, and just have fun with it!
EO: How can fans follow and support you?
NM: Fans can stay up to date with us across all of our social media channels and on our website. That is where fans can join our email list, check out our merch store, tour dates, and more! [Links are listed at the bottom of this article.]
Album Review: Is ‘Delta Home’ American Blonde’s Best Release?
Delta Home is the best, most ambitious, and honest collection of songs that American Blonde has released to date. According to Tinka, “It is beyond anything we’ve done before. When you’re friends who play together all the time — in the studio and on stage — you’re not afraid to challenge each other or push someone for their best. The energy is magical.”
The Music Delivers a Fresh Take on Delta Blues
Music is a living thing. Artists interpret and adapt cherished regional sounds and styles to create something fresh that resonates inside of them. It is constantly evolving. American Blonde’s Delta Home embraces that. The band’s EP is rooted in swampy traditions, but it blossoms with the splendor of modern country mixed with the gusto of rock ‘n’ roll presented with the hook-driven polish of Motown soul. It grabs you deeply and makes you feel like celebrating.
The Lyrics Are Honest
You can’t get more real than telling the actual history of the band through lyrics. If you want to know what American Blonde is, just listen to the scorching title track, “Delta Home.” However, it’s the inclusion of songs like the brutally honest and reflective “Happy” — a song which details a very real and personal struggle for one of the band members — that truly makes this collection of music the band’s best release to date. The joy, the vulnerability, and even the frustration and outrage come from lived experience, so the music connects in such a genuine way that you feel seen and understood.
The Production Is Wonderfully Alive & Gritty
Even in the earliest days when American Blonde went by the name of Southern Halo and featured Nata, Tinka, and Hannah (yes, there’s another musical Morris), the songs had an undeniable magic. However, Lincoln Parish is the philosopher’s stone who has transmuted the band’s sound into pure gold. There is an urgency, a grit, a passion, and the exuberant howl of found identity that makes the tracks on Delta Home the best material of the Morris’ already impressive 15-plus-year career in music. The sound goes straight to your soul to connect and move you in the most wondrous and wild ways. Delta Home is a resounding victory for both American Blonde and the band’s fans.
A Track-by-Track Look at ‘Delta Home’
1. “Mississippi Moonshine” (N. Morris, C. Downs)
A robust and brawny track that kicks open the doors and immediately turns every head in the room. The dark, vengeful subject matter makes this a song to relish.
2. “Delta Home” (N. Morris, C. Morris, M. Mulch)
This track is the heart of the album. If you don’t yet know American Blonde, this is a first impression that you will never forget.
3. “Both Sides Of The Track” (L. Wright, W. Lunsford)
An anthem for anyone who has ever had a dream. If you feel like you’re running out of fuel, the rallying cry of this track will turn that spark into an unstoppable blaze.
“Kiss Me Like The World Is Ending” (N. Morris, J. Nash)
A steamy moment when you can let the world melt away and get lost in a feverish embrace. “Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending” is the track on the EP that lets you slow down and catch a tender moment… only to have the sultry groove leave you breathless.
“Happy” (N. Morris, J. Nash)
Raw honesty. Many of us carry feelings that we hide from others so we don’t seem weak. No matter how much we’re crumbling on the inside, we need to appear strong enough to carry the weight. This song will make you realize you are not, and you never were, alone. Thank you for this. It’s going to save someone.
6. “Undertaker” (N. Morris, J. Nash)
“Undertaker” brings the EP full circle, ending where we began with a wickedly dark and empowering slice of vengeance. Don’t walk away from a broken relationship with your head hung low. Strut into better days with a new pair of boots and an impenetrable attitude.
How to Follow, Stream, & Support American Blonde Online
Featured photo: Libby Rafada-Switzer Garrett.
