Carly Pearce is turning the page on a new season in life, and she couldn’t be more excited about it. The 32-year-old will wrap up her  29: Written in Stone season with two back-to-back, sold-out shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on October 26 and 27, the final chapter in a book that was about pouring out her heartbreak over the end of her marriage to Michael Ray in the songs on the 2021 project. Next up is a new record, one that Pearce is eager to share with the world.

“In this next phase, I’m just excited to keep doing what I’ve always done, which is write what’s going on in my life,” Pearce hints to The Tennessean. “Do I have a big divorce to write about right now? Thank God no, I don’t. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful that I conquered that chapter of my life in a graceful way. But I’m excited to be able to show fans what I’ve been up to.”

When Pearce wrote the songs on 29: Written in Stone, including “Next Girl,” “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” with Ashley McBryde, and her current single, “What He Didn’t Do,” she had no idea that the story she was sharing would resonate with so many people.

“I was writing the initial shock, the realization, the anger, the sadness,” Pearce reflects. “The hope and the redemption at the end. I feel like I healed. I wish that everyone who went through a divorce or a heartbreak or a loss could have the blueprint that I had for myself — seeing my relationship for what it was.”

In fact, the record began as the 29 EP, with the title track a very autobiographical song about Pearce’s experience.

“I remember writing ’29’ and being like, ‘There is no way this song is going to live anywhere,'” Pearce admits. “The year I got married and divorced? That makes no sense on paper [for] what commercial music is.

“I never set out to write a concept album … I was going through this in real-time,” she adds. “This heartbreak, if you listen to this album, you can hear that.”

Instead, 29: Written in Stone became 15 songs that cover her wide array of emotions, from shock to sadness to healing. It was important for the Grand Ole Opry member to write the entire story, not just for her, but for anyone who had experienced something similar.

“I wanted to finish the story for anybody out there — especially young people who are shamed by divorce, young people who are staying in a marriage because they’re afraid to leave,” Pearce says. “Anybody who’s experienced loss in any way who feels debilitated by it. I wanted to finish it for them.”

Perhaps ironically, it was Pearce’s biggest personal pain that led to her biggest professional gain, including winning the CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year, as well as the ACM Award for Female Artist of the Year. Pearce is nominated this year for five CMA Awards, including once again for Female Vocalist of the Year.

“So few of us make it to Nashville, so few of us get a record deal,” Pearce said. “So few of us get a single out. So few of us get a Top 40 single. Even smaller get a No. 1. How many women get Female Vocalist of the Year?

“I didn’t go to prom,” she remarks. “I didn’t do that phase of my life. But it feels like the greatest moment that you could ever have. You’re a part of the group you always wanted.”

Pearce now belongs to a group that she once felt completely ostracized from. After singing at Dollywood while still a teenager, Pearce moved to Nashville, where she heard rejections over and over and over again. It would have been enough to break almost anyone, but not Pearce.

“When I drive down Music Row, I have the mental image and the weight of the years that I spent crying in my car,” she concedes.

Fortunately, Pearce persisted, and now reigns as one of the biggest country music hitmakers, which was validated with her recent recognition as one of the CMT Artists of the Year. Her headlining shows at the Mother Church of Country Music feel like the perfect way to embark on her next season.

“To have my own two shows to close out what has been the biggest year of my life, it solidifies for me [that] a lot of the dreams that I had are coming true … I think it’s just going to be one of the most special moments that I’ll ever have, and [it will] make me feel like I’m creating a true career that’ll transcend a lot of decades,” Pearce says.

Pearce will join Blake Shelton on the road in 2023 as the opening act on his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour.

All of Pearce’s music and tour dates can be found at CarlyPearce.com.

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel.