Rachel Loy is one of the most sought-after session aces in the Nashville studio scene — a huge feat considering the talent pool in the Music City and its underlying boy’s club mentality. Her ability to perform under pressure and utilize her wide palette of tones and playing styles has made her the first-call hired gun for country stars Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Brothers Osborn, Scotty McCreery, and many others. As a sidewoman, she’s been called on to share the stage with Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker, Hank Williams Jr., Jason Aldean, and Kacey Musgraves, to name a few. When asked how she became the top-tier low-ender in such a competitive musical environment, Loy credits her successful history as a songwriter, her ability to always serve the song, her instincts in reading musicians, and her extreme malleability as a player. As a producer, however, her disposition shifts from merely serving as the band’s foundational element to being the ultimate controller of the room. Loy goes with a direct approach when it comes to production, and her no-nonsense nature behind the board demonstrates her years of being on the other side of it. Her experience gained from paying her dues on hundreds of sessions and learning the lessons necessary to command the project regardless of the artist have become her biggest assets. Her insatiable curiosity about recording, and countless hours clocked in studios, fueled her journey to becoming a producer — and when it comes to changing roles, she has no problem seamlessly jumping from one to the other. Her patience as a producer wears thin when it comes to superficial artists, monetary motives, and unfocused musicians looking for their big break. But given her demand in the recording studio, she’s able to pick and choose which projects to take on and what the final outcome will sound like. While she’s made her home in country music, the genre wasn’t her first choice during her musical upbringing. A life-long bass player, Loy was deep into rock and singer–songwriters before she headed to the Berklee College of Music, where she discovered her appreciation for jazz, gospel, R&B, and music from around the world. Then, after moving to Austin, Texas and meeting her future husband, a touring folk singer, Loy found her niche in country and Americana. From there she became a successful songwriter, landing hits as a solo artist and eventually moving to Nashville in 2008, where her focus shifted primarily to bass. Happily married with three kids, Loy has her hands full both playing on and producing multiple projects at all times and trying to find the moments to catch her breath in between takes. It wasn’t always her plan to wear so many different hats when she began playing bass as a young girl, and she definitely never imagined that the one she’d be wearing most prominently would be a Stetson. But she’ll happily take it.