Although now living in New York City, Kristina Train says she remains a southern girl at heart. As a performer at the Savannah Music Festival, she’s now returning to her old stomping grounds- which includes a few local dive bars (one of our personal favorites)- to prove she is still a Savannah sweetheart.

Take a look at these photos and an extended interview with her that didn’t make the magazine:

SM: Are your family and friends here excited to have you return to your hometown to perform in one of the city’s biggest festivals?

KT: My closest friends are my friends who I grew up with in Savannah…they’re really excited.

SM: What does it feel to have your first album under your belt?

KT: Like Mt. Kilimanjaro has been removed from my shoulders. It’s such a relief and it’s so exciting. I’m so proud of this album. It’s everything I wanted it to be. I just sat back and realized that the main goal in my life, which was to write music songs, put them on an album and to release it on a major record label has come true. And so to have reached this huge goal I’ve dreamed of all my life, it just blows me away.

SM: The title of the album has a lot of symbolism; can you share that story?

KT: Yes, it’s Spilt Milk. We went back and forth. At one point I wanted to call it Moon River in honor of Johnny Mercer, which is also a track on the album. But then on Friday, February 14, the whole album, except for the song Spilt Milk, got deleted. There was a virus and the backup and the other backup and the third backup all got infected. I think I went into shock and was like, ‘This isn’t happening. This is a joke’. Then when I realized it wasn’t a joke—we even sent it to the FBI forensic recovery unit – once we realized it was really gone, it was incredible. Everyone rallied and within one month the musicians played their parts again, I sang again, and problem solved… No use crying over spilt milk and no use crying over deleted albums.

SM: Your sound is very unique. How do you describe your voice?

KT: I guess I hope it would be honest and dynamic and soulful.

SM: What are you working on for the future?

KT: Come spring, I’ll be on tour. And in the summer, there will be tours and festivals and all that good stuff…by next fall, I’ll be focusing on number two and writing for number two.

SM: What does it feel like for you to hear yourself on the radio?

KT: It feels weird …the only time it’s happened to me was behind the wheel of a car and it was definitely accident inducing. I had to pull over on the side of the road and hyperventilate and thank god I didn’t get in a wreck. Then I kind of pulled myself together and thought, ‘That was so uncool; get back on the road.’

SM: What’s something most people might not know about you?

KT: I can recite every single American president in chronological order.

SM: Any special plans for your time in Savannah?

KT: I’ll be at my usual spot, Pinky Master’s, right by my childhood home.

In early January South magazine brought Kristina into a studio in New York City for an exclusive photo shoot for our February/March issue. There were only a few photos that made it into the magazine but there is no way we couldn’t share what a great photo shoot it became!