Holli Garet wanted everything to be perfect. 

In anticipation of a sit-down interview with Create Magazine, the San Angelo singer/songwriter drove her four children to school and returned home to shower, apply her makeup and straighten her hair. Afterward, when Garet adjusted the sprinkler in her yard, a stream of cold water shot her in the face. She pointed the sprinkler in another direction, only to have it drench her whole body.  

“It hit me in that moment that obviously God wanted to make sure I stayed humble…just his way of saying, ‘I like you with curly hair, anyway,’” Garet said in a Facebook post later that day. 

In the nearly seven years since the gregarious blonde arrived on the local live music scene with her piano and soulful voice, she’s developed a thick skin. Criticism, loss and heartbreak have had a dichotomous influence on her career, sparking both doubt and inspiration; she’s documented much of it with raw and honest Facebook posts. Curled up in a chair in her living room - a space awash in a kaleidoscope of color with walls of lavender, lime and yellow festooned with framed children’s art and paintings - Garet recalled the rollercoaster ride.