Finding 'Happiness': Grammy Award-winning musician Lisa Loeb finds success independently

Nov. 2—To say Lisa Loeb is busy in an understatement.

The Grammy Award-winning musician has found many avenues to pursue during her more than three decades in the music industry.

Loeb is best known for the hit song, "Stay (I Missed You)," which catapulted Loeb into mainstream music. The song helped Loeb become the first pop singer to reach No. 1 as an unsigned artist.

Yet, she's so much more than the music she makes.

She's an actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and SiriusXM radio host, in addition to being a mother.

"Every moment of my day is taken up," Loeb says. "It all comes down to planning. Despite my heavy schedule, I still make sure that I get eight hours of sleep a night. It's important for me."

Loeb released her 15th album, "A Simple Trick To Happiness" and is on tour, which makes two stops in New Mexico.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, Loeb will perform at Immanuel Presbyterian in Albuquerque. The next night, she travels north to Santa Fe to perform at the Scottish Rite Temple.

Loeb also followed the release of the album with the debut of her new musical, "Together Apart," which she co-wrote and co-produced with over 100 of her fellow Brown University alums to raise money for The Actors Fund.

She is also the host of her own weekday SiriusXM show, "Stay with Lisa Loeb," on '90s on 9, where she shares first-hand, behind-the-scenes accounts about the music and events of the '90s.

"When I started off as a solo writer, everything I did I was totally independent," Loeb says. "As I got into my early 30s, my opportunities opened up to collaborate with other people that I could learn from. I learned that I enjoyed collaborating."

After years of making music, it's still the live concerts that bring joy to Loeb.

"It's seeing when the audience have a connection with the songs," she says. "It's like you're building the same house together."

Loeb recalls one of her first journeys with songwriting.

"When I was in high school, my friends and I wrote the high school graduation song," she says. "It had a specific purpose. That's where I started to love the process of songwriting."

Because there are 15 albums worth of material, Loeb plans the setlist with a set core of songs.

"I always put a little section for requests," she says. "The fans can help direct me in a certain direction because there are so many I can go. I usually play what I feel more connected to."

Loeb has also learned to love being an independent artist.

"It's always difficult to work with major labels," she says. "When it's working, it works well. When it's not working, it's not well at all. It's better to be an independent artist because you get to choose your path. You have a little more control and it can be exciting to have more opportunities to actually connect with people. It's important to focus on the music first."