Singer-songwriter Lizzy Diane grew up in and calls Sheboygan home, but her current home of Eau Claire has a special place in her heart.  

Her newest album – Encompass Rose – is a mix of alternative folk with dynamic acoustic instrumentation.

“I have been playing music my whole life,” Diane said. “When I was a kid I learned violin and piano and picked the guitar when I was about 13, but I didn’t start writing songs until almost two years ago.”

Her favorite song to sing – “Slumber Lake” – had the biggest personal emotional connection and she knew, out of all her songs, this was the one that could be made bigger and better.

To help with this song – and all the others on her album – she found producer Evan Middlesworth (organ, tambourine) Patrick Bedard (drums), Kathleen Nottingham (violin) Steve Bateman (harmonica, vocals) and Caleb Horne (mandolin) to play by her side.

When it comes to writing her songs, Diane said she does not have a formula. She will be playing around with a chord progression or a cool idea for a lyric in her head but sometimes the song does not end up where she thought it was going to go.

“I kind of ‘free write,’ and it’s chaotic at first and tighten it up as I go,” Diane said. “I don’t usually remember the songs I write, I usually blank it out and let it flow.”

Diane said many of her songs on Encompass Rose have a story behind them, but just like when writing, they tend to become their own thing. She said at the start, the songs took on a folkier, storytelling style, but as time went on, her writing became more developed and concise.

She said the hardest part about creating the album was getting over her self-criticism.

“No one likes hearing themselves recorded, and so hearing my music recorded that meant so much to me,” Diane said. “I put so much weight on myself to make it perfect and I had to get over the fact that it wasn’t going to be perfect especially not in the beginning, it took a lot of time to convince myself that what I was creating was worth creating.”

The meaning behind the album title was very symbolic for her, she said. Encompass Rose was about travel and finding yourself.

“At the time I had no idea where I would be a year from now,” Diane said. “I grew so much with my music, I was dreaming of travel, trying to find your way, trying to find your place for you, and it ended up being Eau Claire.”

And the opportunities and creative atmosphere helped.

“Since the first day I was here it just seems like everybody wanted to help me out,”

Diane said. “We are all rooting for each other especially in the music and art community. It’s not every man for itself.” Diane said she not only wants to create music, but she wants to see other people exceed as well.

“I think the Eau Claire community and Wisconsin in general has developed a lot musically, and it inspires me,” Diane said. “I like seeing people believing in themselves.”

Encompass Rose is available at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St. Find more info on Lizzy Diane on Facebook at Facebook.com/LizzyDianeMusic.