Megan Moroney Discusses Debut EP 'Pistol Made of Roses'

Last month, Megan Moroney performed at Spotify’s Fresh Finds writer’s round during CMA Fest. During her performance of “Hair Salon,” her second official release and leading single for her brand new project, the crowd sang along to every single word. “I’m just really proud of that song because I feel like it encompasses everything that I wanted to be as a songwriter,” she tells The Nash News. “I think it’s very rewarding as a songwriter to hear real people sing back something you wrote with your friends.”

A few years ago, Moroney was at the University of Georgia studying to be an accountant. While at school she became known as the country music singer of the sorority she was a part of. “I got a lot of cool opportunities. One being playing for a sold-out show with Chase Rice,” she shares. “It was honestly that show, that I was like, ‘Okay I’ve gotta change my major because I don’t want to do accounting. I want to do this.” By the end of her freshman year, she asked her parents if she could move to Nashville.

She stuck it out through university and scored her degree before officially making the move to Nashville in 2020. Her debut single “Wonder” was released the following year; a track she wrote completely alone.

Fast-forward to the crowd favorite, “Hair Salon,” which was the first-ever taste listeners got of Pistol Made of Roses: the just-released debut project from Moroney. The track was written by Moroney alongside Ben Williams, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Micah Carpenter, all of whom she’s close friends. The day they wrote the song they couldn’t all agree on a singular subject matter. “I was going through the notes on my phone and I found this note that said, ‘I heard you finally found the one sittin’ there at the hair salon.’ I looked out the window to keep myself from crying,” she recalls.

After the discovery of the voice note that was initially prompted by a dream Moroney had that took place in her hometown’s hair salon, the songwriting crew got to talking about small towns and the drama that’s discussed at the local hair salon. At first, Moroney wanted to make it a tune filled with humor, but her co-writers decided differently. It ended up being a complete gut-punch of a track with descriptive, visual lyrics where Moroney describes the specifics of going blonde juxtaposed to hearing the provincial gossip with lines, “Everybody’s up to something / I heard your name from three chairs down / They said you bought a ring / And you found the one / Now I’m heartbroke / Heartbroken in a hair salon.”

“Fix You Too,” another pre-released track, was written in only an hour. The message is self-empowering about prioritizing yourself and recognizing the red flags. Another confident, straightforward song filled with self-love is the opener, “I Love Myself.”

“Til It All Goes South” is a twangy love song about the good and the bad times and on the flipside, Moroney has her “Goodbye Earl moment in “He Made Me Do It” which takes place in a courtroom. In the exhilarating chorus, she exclaims with earth rasp, “I’m not askin’ for forgiveness / I don’t need to beat the charge / But believe me, he’s still breathin’ / Your honor he got off easy.”

The closer, “Keep the Flowers” is a buzzing feminine anthem that features mentions of daisies, tulips, and roses. The songwriting is also brilliantly stunning and badass with the ending line in the chorus, “I’ll keep my last name and you can keep the flowers.” The outro is a loud, shredding guitar solo that solidifies the closing of the project. “I tried to make it a very ‘me’ EP, show every side,” Moroney says with poise. “I’m excited because I feel like there’s something for everyone on it.”

This upcoming fall, Moroney will embark on her first real tours with Chase Matthew, Larry Fleet, and Jamey Johnson as their opening act. On the Jamey Johnson tour specifically, she’ll be playing outdoor amphitheaters including the FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee where last year she saw Kelsea Ballerini and The Jonas Brothers play. “I told my friend that I went there with, ‘Give me like five years and I’ll play here. But I’m definitely gonna play here I can feel it.’” Less than a year later, she’ll be stepping on that stage with her first her project under her belt as well as a growing fanbase connecting to every word she sings.

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