“I wanna run through the rain/dance on a cloud/Steal a kiss and then laugh out loud/Feel those butterflies in my soul/Catch butterflies one by one/Sprinkler underneath the sun/All those things from the days gone by/ I wanna wake up and start living life” is the powerfully poignant theme that is the driving message of Lee-Ellen’s debut album Falling Up. As a teacher, wife and mother of two, Lee-Ellen never thought she would be choosing this moment in her life “to wake up and start living life.” And although Lee-Ellen has had to face her fair share of adversity throughout the years, she has found the strength to persevere and overcome the obstacles that have stood in her way.

Lee-Ellen went public with her debut album Falling Up at her CD release party over the weekend. As I listened to the album over the past week, I became engrossed in the imagery of her lyrics as they flowed effortlessly from her heart. And unlike so many freshman records that seem to be thrown together as a smorgasbord of musical eclecticism, Falling Up is cohesively woven together like a melodic kaleidoscope that invited me to share in the beauty of the emotions that Lee-Ellen hauntingly invokes.

On Falling Up, Lee-Ellen has creatively crafted a lyric driven album that elegantly blends her sonnets with sensual harmonies that transform her stories into musical messages that have the ability to inspire. Whether Lee-Ellen is delving into her personal world of raising a child with Down syndrome or telling a love story from her own life or sharing her faith in God with all of us, the songs of Falling Up remind us that anything we dream about in life is possible. We just have to take the first step.

Last summer, I wrote an article that evolved from a conversation I had with a friend from my old college radio station about the lack of storytellers in the music industry. We talked about a lot of things but mostly, we reminisced about our days on air at the old college station. And as always, our conversation eventually drifted to comparisons of the musical styles of the past thirty or forty years. His main point was that modern music is missing the storytellers, the great musicians who can write a lyric that tells a story and combine it with a quality piece of music that leaves the listener yearning for more.

Falling Up is one of those albums that has combined simple, honest lyrics with a well orchestrated musical accompaniment that that touches the heart. But Lee-Ellen is more than your typical storyteller, though. On her debut album Falling Up, she has found her voice as an independent country artist who has crafted eloquent, spirit lifting lyrics of faith, hope, love and endless possibilities through her own discoveries of the world.

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To learn more about Lee-Ellen’s music, click here to visit her website.

Author’s Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Lee-Ellen is a college classmate. I asked for a copy of her CD in February so I could listen to it. I, unfortunately, was unable to attend her CD release party in New Jersey this past weekend as my travel plans got changed but I heard it was a great event. I wish Lee-Ellen all the success in the world. Check out her music on her website and on ITunes, you won’t be disappointed.