Rachel McIntyre Smith doesn’t just write songs; she engineers her own world. The East Tennessee native arrived in Nashville with a "multimedia specialist" toolkit and a perspective shaped by small-town magic. On this episode of Curious Goldfish, Jason English sits down with the singer-songwriter to discuss how she bypassed traditional industry gates with a ukulele and a handful of cat cafes.

Before Smith was playing AmericanaFest showcases, she was the undisputed queen of the "cat cafe circuit". Faced with zero following and silent venues after graduating from UT Chattanooga, she booked her own tour playing for adoptable rescues. It was an masterclass in resilience: "I can get everything exactly right, but a cat's probably going to try to jump on me in the middle of playing a song," she jokes. This "test and learn" grit eventually led to her 2022 debut EP, Glory Days, and a permanent move to Nashville.

Smith is the literal embodiment of the modern independent hustle. Using her communications degree, she acts as her own graphic designer, photographer, and web developer to fund her art. By keeping a full-time "day job," she preserves the integrity of her songwriting, allowing her to focus on networking rather than just "grinding it out" on Broadway. Her latest EP, Honeysuckle Friend, reflects this stability, trading the angst of her debut for a community-backed, positive outlook.

The heart of the conversation centers on Smith’s refusal to measure success by a ticking clock. Her song "Grow Up Slow" serves as a manifesto against the pressure to have a "perfect" life before thirty. Inspired by her granddaddy’s advice to "take things one step at a time," Smith embraces her own trajectory. As she poignantly puts it: "I ain't crushing it, but I ain't rushing it, and I'm better off because of it".