COUNTRY INSIDER: QUAYLE FINDS HEALING IN "ON THE EDGE" PODCAST

Stephanie Quayle uses her voice for more than just singing with the launch of her “On the Edge” podcast this month. The podcast, which posts its fourth weekly episode today, takes its name from the country singer’s latest album, released in November.

Like the album, the “On the Edge” podcast draws on the grief Quayle felt after the 2009 death of her boyfriend in a plane crash. Its eight episodes follow the album’s tracks sequentially, diving into each song’s message of redemption, with new 15-minute episodes posting each Wednesday. “I felt like this was the best way to introduce myself as the voice behind the podcast, the stories, and the music,” Quayle tells Country Insider.

Quayle wants to utilize her voice for good with the podcast, expanding on what she began with her album and a short film she released in January. “On the Edge” serves as an outlet for Quayle to continue a conversation with listeners and fans and to share things they normally don’t get to hear.

The podcast became a journey for Quayle to navigate her healing process. Since she shares her most vulnerable stories there, she hopes it creates a safe space for more stories to be shared within people’s truths. She says her album — and, by extension, the podcast — is all about having the permission to feel. “The more we own our stuff, the better we are,” Quayle says. “Let’s go to those places and feel those things.”

Quayle didn’t ask any guests to join her for the podcast’s first season because she wanted listeners to hear only her voice. “Trust is everything to me,” the singer says. “I wanted to build that conversation, that friendship and that trust, so that as other voices are incorporated, the listener knows they can still count on me.” Quayle says she plans to continue her podcast past this season and hopes to add guests later, possibly as soon as a season-one bonus episode.

Quayle says she and producer Elizabeth Evans had considered collaborating on a podcast for a while, but the timing never felt right. They knew the time was right after Quayle released her album, because the podcast seemed like a continuation of the conversation behind the music. “When you’re starting an adventure, it has to be on purpose, and it has to have purpose,” Quayle says. “I’m not a fan of chasing moving targets.”

Quayle also found inspiration in her late boyfriend’s daughter, Eden, who processed her grief through a different creative outlet. “Eden shared that she was going to paint her way to her healing,” Quayle says, “which made me think, I could do this too.” — Lexi Liby