Kristi Neumann used to dream of playing sold-out clubs in major cities.

The Flathead High School graduate spent 14 years in Nashville, Tenn., pursuing a career in music. She played venues of all sizes, released two albums and developed a loyal fan base. But over the years, she found her passion was for playing small, intimate venues and creating music that means something.

"If you keep it so generic that everybody likes you, you don't get to say what you like," she said.

Now Neumann, 35, is home in Montana.

While moving to Missoula has brought her closer to family, it also has forced the singer-songwriter to essentially start over. She has new venues to discover and new fans to win over.

But Neumann is ready for the challenge.

"I feel really blessed to have this," she said of her opportunity to play music in her home state.

NEUMANN BEGAN making music 16 years ago when she took a beginning guitar class at Flathead Valley Community College.

She always had been too shy to sing in front of people, but in that class, she discovered a way to put music to the poetry she'd been writing all her life. Gradually, she worked up the courage to believe that what she had to say - or sing - was worthwhile.

Soon after, she left the Flathead Valley and headed for Michigan, where she started performing. While she had gained some confidence in her music, Neumann still struggled to play in front of people.

"I was terrified," she said. "I wouldn't sleep the night before."

Despite her fear, Neumann headed for Nashville, determined to make a go at making music. It was intimidating, with so many other musicians there trying to build their own careers.

Eventually, Neumann said, she came to a point where she realized she could "remain intimidated or decide to do it, because I knew I could do it."

"I remember when I said, screw it. I'm going to try. I'm going to make music," she said.

NEUMANN PLAYED small venues and worked hard at day jobs to support herself. By 2003, she'd saved up enough money to release her first album, "Capacity for Change."

It was an independent effort and Neumann admits she had no idea what she was doing in the process. But the album helped propel her career, especially after a Nashville drummer got ahold of it and asked her to play music with him and a guitar-player friend.

"That was my first ‘real' band," she said. "We're still such great friends."

While she played with the band, Neumann also continued to perform on her own. She played all over Nashville and at venues and festivals in Chicago, Atlanta and around Tennessee.

While performing and working day jobs, she continued to save money and last fall released her second album, "Peace in Mystery."

The album includes the song "Cole's Lullaby," which has a special place in Neumann's heart.

It was written for the son of her closest childhood friend, who was born more than three months prematurely. Around the same time baby Cole was in the neonatal intensive care unit, Neumann ran into another friend who recently had returned from a mission trip in Ethiopia.

That friend had traveled with Ordinary Hero, a nonprofit child advocacy group with several functions, including promoting adoption. Neumann wanted to help the group and decided to use "Cole's Lullaby" for that purpose. All sales of the song on iTunes go to Ordinary Hero to help families with adoption fees.

"I have such a soft spot in my heart for people who want to adopt," Neumann said, adding that she is interesting in adopting someday.

BEFORE THE release of "Peace in Mystery," Neumann decided to return to Montana to be closer to family. Her parents, Harold and Edith, still live in the Flathead.

Neumann said she chose Missoula because she thought she'd have more opportunities to play music there. But since moving back, she has found herself booking more shows in the Flathead Valley than in her new hometown.

It has been humbling, she said, to essentially start over as a relatively unknown musician.

"I'm just thankful that I get to do it," she said. "I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for the people I've met here; they're so supportive."

Neumann hasn't cut all ties with Nashville, however. She played a CD release party there after her album came out last fall, and she is already talking with a producer there about her next album.

But for now, her energies are focused on Montana and playing at the small, intimate venues she loves. Those concerts allow her to better connect with her audience, she said. And these days, her dreams aren't so much about reaching superstardom as about touching hearts.

"Does it only matter if you connect with a million people, or if you connect with 1,000 people?" Neumann asked.

For more information, visit www.kristineumann.com.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by email at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.