It's a good year to be Abby Anderson. In 2018, the month of September alone brought three exciting new milestones in the rising country singer's career: On Friday (Sept. 7), Anderson dropped her debut EP, I'm Good, and the following day (Sept. 8), she made her debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry. On Sept. 13, Anderson will kick off her run on The Long Way Tour with Brett Eldredge, one of her longtime musical heroes.

"I've never seen Brett Eldredge live before!" she exclaimed with a laugh during a recent interview with The Boot. "So I'm really looking forward to seeing his show. And then, secondly, I'm really looking forward to all the new things I'm gonna learn. Because I feel like every day I'm learning something new, and Brett seems like such a professional, but also such a kind human."

Although the new -- and exciting -- changes in her career could understandably cause the up-and-coming artist some nervousness, Anderson says the positives far outweigh the pressure.

"I'm not nervous about a thing [about I'm Good], because I love and feel so extremely confident about every one of these songs," Anderson explains. "I just feel like they are all so me, and they are all me in different aspects. I would say this EP is a very good representation of all the different sides of me."

That I'm Good works so well as an introduction to Anderson's personality is a natural occurrance, not the result of any vision she had walking in to the process of curating and recording the project. "Honestly, my goal is just to release great music," she continues. "I wish I was more artsy and had a story behind everything. But in my mind I was like, 'Why would I release anything that I didn't think was absolutely awesome?' So that's what we did. These are the five best [songs at the moment]."

The lessons Anderson learned through the process of creating her first EP have changed the way she writes songs today: "When I write a song now, I think about my live show," she says. "I think about if it's gonna be entertaining to listen to. If people are going to have fun listening to it, even if it's a slow song. You know, it's like, 'Is this something that's going to grab people's attention in a loud bar?' That's what I write for now."

Moreover, the creative process has affected the sheer volume of songs Anderson writes. "I've been writing so much since we picked these songs [on the EP]," she adds. "I mean, we probably picked those songs over six months ago now. I've written so much more music that gets me really, really excited about the next songs we're gonna release."

Does that mean a full-length studio album is in the works? "Definitely," Anderson says. "Although I don't have a date picked out or anything. We're gonna release the EP, see how that goes and go from there."

In the meantime, Anderson is riding high off of her first-ever performance at the Grand Ole Opry after receiving her invitation to perform there in July. The singer grew up in a musical family with a deep reverence for country music traditions and for the institution of the Opry.

"My mom is the one who got me into country music, and she comes from a long line of -- not professional singers, but a long line of country music singers and country music lovers. Everybody is just so talented on her side," Anderson explains. "So I grew up watching Grand Ole Opry videos, and just dreaming about it.

"The coolest thing is just thinking back to 10 years ago, when I was 10 years old, singing into my pink hairbrush, knowing this day was gonna happen. You know?" she continues. "And it's finally happening. I honestly don't think I'll know how I'll feel until I'm actually on the stage in front of people."

In the excitement of getting the call to perform at the Opry and posting the video of her reaction to the news to social media, however, Anderson overlooked one little detail. "I posted that video on Instagram, and then right afterwards, I realized, 'Oh my gosh, I didn't tell my mom!'" she recalls, laughing. "I was like, 'My mother is going to kill me for posting it on social media before I told her.' So I quickly texted my parents. She was really excited."

In between hitting new milestones, learning new skills -- and keeping the peace with her country-fan mother -- Anderson says she's taking time to sit down and appreciate her rise to success.

"I gotta tell you, today was the first time I really sat down and cried the happy tears, you know?" she goes on to say. "I just had to take a moment. I mean, I'm a thankful person, but I really had to take a moment and be thankful for it. It's just so cool."

5 Things You Need to Know About Abby Anderson

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