How would you want to be remembered if tomorrow were your last day on Earth? How would your friends and loved ones describe you? It’s like the ultimate life exit interview question: give me a word or phrase to describe yourself and the life you lived. For some, that’s hard to answer, but that is what Maggie Baugh ponders in her newest release, Headstone.
The country singer/songwriter delves into how complicated the human experience is with opposing lyrics throughout the verses. Sometimes she is someone who “to know her is to love her” and other times she is “a crazy ex-girlfriend, a drunk, a sinner.” The dash that ends up on your headstone has to speak for a lot.
Baugh’s other recent single, “Other Side of the World” from her upcoming album Entertainers Heart, named after her current world tour, follows a similar theme. The messaging is all about optimism and hope, embracing life, perseverance and uninhibited authenticity. When asked about her mindset while writing for this unreleased album, Baugh shared that she thought a lot about life and did some self-reflection. “Life is good for me right now, so I wanted to write about where I’m at. Music is a common ground. You can forget about what is going on around you and just have a good time. Embrace the precious moments,” Baugh said.
Baugh’s word of choice to describe herself as an artist? The obvious answer, “entertainer.” You can see how she embodies this in her live performances, which she gives full energy to at every stop along the tour. “I want people to be happy both on stage and off stage. I’ll put on the same show for five people or a whole arena. Entertaining like that is kind of a lost art,” Baugh said.
While she isn’t a stranger to performing, the Entertainers Heart tour is her first time headlining, with 60 stops overall including some international shows. Recently she was on tour as a utility player for Keith Urban. Urban was looking for two female multi-instrumentalists to join him on the CMT Awards Show and Baugh was chosen! Her mastery of multiple instruments, including guitar and fiddle, made her the perfect fit. She started with learning the violin at age six. By age 12, she transitioned into country from classical music and then at age 18 she moved to Nashville. The rest is history, and that one performance with Urban at the awards show led her to work with him on his own tour. “Working with him was like going to rock star school. He is a musical encyclopedia,” Baugh said.
She is a bit of a musical encyclopedia herself. If you follow her on social media, you may have seen her popular Tik Tok series called “Finish the Lick.” She hears a bit of a popular song and then is asked to pick up the next part of the riff. It’s easy to recognize the brilliance of the classic rock jams that she has mastered, including hits from ACDC, Led Zeppelin and Michael Jackson to name a few. Her roots may be in rock, but her sound as an independent artist is country leaning. “Rock lives on forever, but I love country music because of the story it tells,” Baugh said. Even her personal style is influenced by her love of the greats, including the signature hat that she wears on tour, which was inspired by the hat-wearing Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The ability to play so many instruments also impacts how she physically makes her music. Entertainers Heart will be self produced, a time-consuming labor of love but one that Baugh embraces. One day she aspires to work with a whole team and perhaps her dream producer Jay Joyce, but for now she wears many hats in the creative process, which is not unusual for the modern artist in Nashville. A lot of musicians in the Music City will trade their talents, so while Baugh can play all of the instruments during her recording sessions, she found talented musicians and friends to join her on her tour so that she could have the full band experience.
Being on tour is a dream come true, but it does make it a little more challenging for Baugh to find time to write. Even with a bustling schedule, she still tries to foster her creativity. Sometimes she will think of a song title, sometimes she will come up with a cool guitar riff and other times she is just inspired by what is going on around her. That’s one major benefit of touring: she got to step outside of the Nashville bubble and see so much of other communities, including some right here in Pittsburgh.
On April 10, 2025, she performed at the Titusville Iron Works. Now she is back for a show on May 8th at the Sherman Theater. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased here. You don’t want to miss it! She promises a good time, and that’s a promise I believe she will keep. Her passion for what she does is incredibly evident. When asked what would be her ultimate marker for success as an artist, Baugh said, “I want to be like Charlie Daniels. He’s 80 years old with a pacemaker still playing the fiddle! If I can be like him when I grow up, I will know that I made it.”