Music was always in the background of Paige Pivovar’s life, and it’s starting to come forward as she navigates her late 20s and finds her authentic voice through songwriting.
From the small town of Kiowa, Kansas, she grew up with an interest and love for music. She even wrote in her 3rd grade journal that she wanted to be a singer when she grew up. Paige did choir throughout her childhood but found it to be a bit of a yawn, so she quit in high school and ended up picking up a guitar around that time. There were not any options for her to take lessons, so she has always been completely self-taught and learned how to noodle around on the piano as well.
“Both instruments feel mostly like tools for writing and singing to me rather than being really proficient at playing an instrument,” Paige explains.
When she began following the Lord at the age of 20, Paige immediately felt deeply connected to God through worship. A few years later, she auditioned to serve on the worship team at her church even though she says she “felt super inexperienced.” She realized that this is when her love for music really took off. Her desire for songwriting started to grow, and around the same time, she met her husband who is in a band called Joy Camp.
“They write their own music and play shows locally,” Paige states. “This was my first time meeting people who pursued music in this way, and it made my dream of writing feel a little more attainable.”
She says she didn’t exactly know where to start, but in her mid-20s, she experienced a lot of transition and hard change. Her brother passed away, and the pandemic hit a few months later. She graduated college and moved cities. Paige’s friendships shifted and changed as they all moved on and entered different life stages. She fell in love and got married. All of these experiences brought her to a point — getting well acquainted with her emotions that she used to avoid.
“Songwriting became a place to express and process these emotions,” Paige says. “Truly, one day I sat down with a guitar, started singing, and an entire song came out. I’ve been writing ever since.”
The process of bringing a song together is exciting and satisfying to Paige. Her favorite piece of the puzzle is her writing. She explains that she “feels less experienced on the production side of things but loves collaborating.” Her producer is Logan Murphy, and he brings everything together beautifully, as she draws inspiration from artists like Brook & The Bluff, Maggie Rogers, Kacey Musgraves, and Abby Holiday.
While music is a passion of hers, she has spent the last few years as a graduate student getting her doctorate in Occupational Therapy. She finished school in May of 2024 and works at a non-profit that provides services to people with Down Syndrome.
“It’s honestly so fun and life-giving,” Paige explains. “Currently music is something I pursue mostly as a side project… Sometimes the hardest part is balancing music with other creative pursuits. Whatever I’m feeling most inspired by in the moment is usually what wins out in what I give my free time to.”
As she finds her footing, Paige is slowly rolling out her next EP, and it surrounds the story of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. The plot started hitting home in her mid-20s with all the change and transition, and, while it can be exciting, coming to terms with the fact that you can’t slow it all down is hard. Paige pulled a lot of inspiration from the imagery of the 2019 movie, especially the hillside scene where Laurie confesses his love to Jo. Her next single from the EP is called Wistful Thinking, and it’s written from Laurie’s perspective — capturing the experience of unrequited love.
“I just could not shake this scene and their love story, and I knew I wanted to write a song about it,” she states. “It honestly makes me so sad every time I listen to it but I kind of love it.”
Her husband, Blase, plays drums on all of her songs and assists with direction for each one as well. He also helps add visual components to every song whether it be album artwork, promotional videos, or music videos.
“We love coming up with ideas together and finding ways to carry them out,” Paige says. “He’s also just genuinely my biggest supporter when it comes to music. He's the one I shared all of my initial songs with and encouraged me to start recording and releasing them.”
Music continues to be a driving force in Paige’s life, but she is going wherever the wind takes her. She will always want it to be a part of her life in some form and hopes to play more local shows in Kansas City this year. Honing in on her songwriting craft is something she’s most passionate about including co-writing with other artists, learning from others, and helping bring new ideas to life.
“I hope to write songs that people feel are authentic and relatable as they navigate the wide range of human emotions whether it’s falling in love or navigating some kind of loss,” Paige proclaims. “I think it’s so important to learn how to grieve well since we all will experience it in some way whether it’s the loss of a person, a dream, or a relationship we really cared about.”
You can find Paige Pivovar on all streaming platforms and keep up with her on Instagram & TikTok
(She is seriously SO underrated. Go listen to her stuff, you will not regret it - xoxo, Tori)