If the creative process is a journey, On the Edge represents an epic tale of twists and turns, all sparked by a voice from the past.
Over thirteen years ago, Stephanie Quayle experienced a profound tragedy when the love of her life died in a fiery plane crash. But what she thought was the worst day of her life soon turned surreal. As she was stumbling through the layers of grief, pain and confusion, a shocking story came to light, one that left her a shell of her former self. The life she knew continued to unravel as she discovered that she was not the only woman in his life. Over the next weeks, months, and years, the trauma and feelings of betrayal almost destroyed her. But over time she dug deep, transcended the pain, found her voice again, and ultimately created her own success.
In April of 2021, Stephanie received a phone call from his daughter seeking her own answers to the wake her father left behind. She was painting her way through her healing in her senior year of college. The emotions from that dark time came flooding back and Quayle knew what she had to do. “Twelve years of thoughts, feelings and memories rushed over me like a wave. I had to write these songs. This was a must for me.”
Soon after, this Montana cowgirl was headed back to the ranch, with songwriter collaborator and confidante Tori Tullier alongside. During this writing retreat, they talked, wrote, sang, laughed, hiked along the creek, looked for double rainbows, spent time with horses, and let the power of the mountains elicit the power of the emotions. The songs from that session plumb the depths. Heartfelt, gripping, emotional and ultimately uplifting, they capture the Nashville songstress at her most vulnerable — and her most assured.
The eight tracks of On the Edge explore that fundamentally human experience when in your darkest moments you’re faced with a decision, when you’re forced to choose between descending into the darkness or seeking the light. On the Edge is a redemptive tale, and a profoundly personal one. It’s one in which Stephanie Quayle charts the stranger-than-fiction story in which she found herself — from the day the love of her young life shattered on an airport runway, and the harrowing aftermath of that tragedy — to the place of grace where she finds herself today.
The long silence on this story is a natural outcome of the resilience and reticence ingrained in Stephanie from an early age. She grew up on a farm in Montana, where her family raised bison and cattle, kept draft and riding horses and grew alfalfa. Stephanie came to music early, starting with piano lessons taught by her stepdad’s mom. Her creativity flourished on the farm in the form of stories, poems and songs and making music on piano and guitar. It was music that helped her get through the challenging teenage years, even landing her the role of lead