Will Anderson – Acoustic Performance & Poetry Reading

The most meaningful love stores are rarely straightforward—they contain joy and fulfillment, but also heartache, frustration and at times even grief. From the bliss of first saying “I do” to the heart-crushing reality of losing someone, the act of loving another person is ever-evolving.

Will Anderson tells his own love story on his full-length solo debut LP, How Little Love Is / How Worth Everything. Snapshots of his life come into focus as he shares vivid memories of his late wife Courtney Kampa, processes the pain of suddenly losing her, and unassumingly connects by opening himself up. The platinum-certified singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer both celebrates her life and uses her light to heal himself and others. 

“This is my story with Courtney, but I hope someone can identify a part of their own story in it,” he states. “I want them to understand what an amazing person she was and see how lucky I was to be married to her. Grief is, obviously, one of the most basic aspects of human experience, but it’s not as isolating it seems. When I started to play the record for other people, I realized I wasn’t alone. If someone listens to it, I hope they’re reminded they’re not alone too.”

Friends since college, Will had spent more than half of his life with Courtney. They dated for four years and were married for five years until her passing in 2022. In the aftermath, he understandably didn’t want to create music. After staying with his parents for two months, he returned to Nashville, moved into a new house, and lived on his own for the first time. Most days passed in a blur of walking his dog, reading, and golfing. 

One day, inspiration unexpectedly struck as he walked out of a Nashville coffee shop. What would become the lead single “Until We Meet Again” had arrived in his head “fully formed with lyrics and melodies”—as he recalls. Song in hand, he quietly dove into writing recording by himself at home for the next year.

“The music was me trying to remember her and our relationship, so I’d never forget,” he says. “It was my eulogy to her.”

Will utilized the sound itself to pay homage to Courtney. He intentionally embraced her palette, nodding to “1940s orchestral music, acoustic songs, pop, and the Beach Boys.” In essence, she remained a north star for the direction of How Little Love Is / How Worth Everything. Plus, he covered one of her favorite songs “Excuses” by The Morning Benders. Meanwhile, various sonic elements even corresponded to moments in the story encouraged by mixer Konrad Snyder.

“I was very intentional about setting the scene with the sound design,” he notes. “The music reflects the moments I found myself slipping into that strange subconscious of a memory. I wanted it to sound like you’re snapping in and out of a daydream. It was also Konrad’s idea to use reverb as the signal for memory. When you hear more depth and reverb, it’s a moment of remembrance.”

On the single “Fever Dream,” ethereal keys wrap around a funky, head-nodding beat laced tight by a deftly played bassline. Will leans into his high register on the hook, “Each time I think of us, it feels like a fever dream.”

“I could’ve made an album of devastating songs, but that wasn’t Courtney,” he goes on. “She was the most fun, vibrant, colorful, and interesting person. ‘Fever Dream’ was the kind of upbeat pop she loved. It’s about the feeling you have when you’re grieving and you don’t know what’s real or not. I’m trying to come to terms with the reality of our relationship like, ‘What am I misremembering or making up?’”

Acoustic guitar gently echoes in the background of “Together Forever.” He adopts a lullaby-like cadence as he exhales, “Life feels so wrong when it’s only me.” On the verses, the volume barely cracks a whisper. Finally, he tries to make sense of it in the chorus, “How am I supposed to live without her when we said we would be together forever?” Fittingly, “Together Forever” concludes with the last voicemail Courtney left him.

“With grief, I found there was anger, disappointment, and being mad at God,” he sighs. “For me, it felt selfishly unfair that she was gone too soon, but it was really unfair that she didn’t get more time for herself. Lyrically, I really found myself grappling with this unfairness. I was also in an acapella group in college, and Courtney loved to see me sing with them. So, we did some acapella vocal parts as a sort of homage to that era of our time together. The voicemail is one of the few voice recordings I have of her, and putting that on this song was just me trying to remember her voice.”

Strings tiptoe across a hazy piano melody during “Postcards.” Reconciling the onset of a new relationship, his thoughts spill onto the page in tender and confessional lyrics. You can practically hear tears drop on the refrain, “ I guess I’ll just send postcards to heaven, keep you aware of how it’s progressing, wish you were here, hope I can see you soon.”

“I dated someone for a while after Courtney passed, and it was a weird sensation,” he explains. “I knew Courtney would’ve loved this person. ‘Postcards’ is me grappling with falling for a new person, still grieving this other person, and not knowing how it works. I wished in that moment that Courtney was there to talk about all of it, because it felt like I was 15 and didn’t know how to act.”

He originally composed “Cherry Coke” prior to losing Courtney. She notably sang all of the harmonies, and it harks back to “when we first started dating and were like teenagers again,” he smiles. “It felt appropriate to include since she sings on it and it’s about us.”

Then, there’s “How Little Love Is / How Worth Everything.” A flurry of flickering piano keys gives way to a prominent groove. Strains of guitar and horns buoy his admission, “Now every tear makes me believe how little love is…how worth everything.”

“This song was really the thesis statement for the album, which is this intimate love story between Courtney and me,” he goes on. “But in reality, it’s also a much bigger story of love and loss. The title is a line from her poem, ‘Skin and Other Weapons’. The little thing I have with Courtney meant everything. It was the entirety of my being wrapped up into a love story with her. I’m trying to wrestle with what it means to not have that.”

Audiences first met Will during his time fronting alternative pop stalwarts Parachute. The band delivered five fan favorite albums, earned platinum and gold singles, and performed to packed venues around the world. All of these experiences shaped Will into the artist that he is now though, giving him the foundation to make a body of work with the gravity, vibrancy, and vulnerability of How Little Love Is / How Worth Everything.

“I’m just a songwriter who was lucky enough to experience the love I got to experience for the time I did,” he leaves off. “I might be the only one who experienced this love story with Courtney, but the album is a reflection of a bigger and universal thing that’s more than just one guy and his feelings.”