Lori McKenna: Life is Hard, Go Full Force

Dadville with Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin

That Sounds Fun Network

Kids & Family, Parenting

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2026

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to Momville! In this episode, we’re hanging out with the legendary Lori McKenna, a three-time Grammy winner who somehow balanced raising five kids with a world-class songwriting career. We dive into her "internal rhythm" of 74 BPM and the hilarious reality of her early days showing up to open mics with a minivan and actual peanut butter on her guitar. Lori gets real about her 30-year marriage to Gene, their legendary four-degree thermostat war, and her self-described "underwhelming" mom status. From failing at selling Tupperware to writing hits for Taylor Swift, she shares how she won the lottery without ever buying a ticket. Whether you're obsessed with an empty kitchen sink or currently orbiting your adult children, join us for some funny thoughts and deep talks. Visit Lori: https://www.lorimckenna.com Join us: http://dadville.substack.com Thanks to Our Sponsors! Quince - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/dadville⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Cove - Check out Cove at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://covesmart.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code DAD for an additional 10% off your first order! Shopify - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://shopify.com/dadville This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp: Our listeners get 10% off their first month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://betterhelp.com/dadville⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Dadville
0:02.0	Yeah
0:05.0	Hi, I'm Dave Barnes
0:07.3	And I'm John McLaughlin
0:08.4	And welcome to Dadville
0:09.6	Dadville's a podcast
0:11.8	Where we talk about life, love,
0:13.7	And the pursuit of awesome dadding
0:15.7	It's funny thoughts and deep talks
0:17.9	So please enjoy your time here in Dadville
0:20.2	And enjoy this episode with
0:22.1	Lori McKenna.
0:30.2	Welcome to the Raising Boys and Girls podcast. I'm David Thomas. And I'm Sissy Gough.
0:34.9	And we are therapists who've been practicing with kids and families for
0:38.3	over 30 years. And in each episode of our podcast, we're going to share some of what we're learning
0:44.2	in this work that we do with kids and families on a daily basis. Our goal is to help you care for the
0:49.8	kids in your life with a little more understanding, a little more practical help, and a whole lot of hope.
0:56.1	We are honored to invite you to join us on this journey of raising boys and girls.
1:04.9	You feel about that tempo.
1:08.4	That's like my...
1:09.6	McKenna. She's here. She's successful. She's really, really good at writing, writing songs. I feel like that's my, like, core tempo. Is that like 73? Oh, one 20. Let's start over. Let's just get more for Lori. It's one more for Lori. No, I really do think I have... Wait, what was it?
1:27.8	120?
	...

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