Sophie Gault makes alt-country music with the uncanny ability to toggle between the sweet and the gritty. But whichever direction she chooses, the result is always gripping, unapologetic, and deeply personal. She has had to conquer inner foes — facing the debilitating mystery of bipolar disorder — but has emerged on the other side empowered and with the songs to show for it, each delivered with her lilting yet attitude-heavy voice. The storytelling is honest and vivid, and her guitar playing evokes the blues stylings of Bonnie Raitt and Mississippi John Hurt. After moving to Nashville from Maryland in 2014, with a guitar case full of the same dreams that lead so many to Music City, she was derailed by mental health struggles and spent three separate occasions in institutions. The music industry is daunting enough, especially for women, but the addition of doctors, medication cocktails, and the embarrassment caused by manic episodes that her peers never understood make Sophie’s su...