Crystal Bowersox had a lot going on in 2013.
She released her second disc, “All That For This” in March. A few months later, she and musician husband Brian Walker divorced.
The 2010 “American Idol” runner-up was supposed to make her Broadway debut in “Always… Patsy Cline,” but the new musical was put on hold.
And Bowersox packed up her son, Tony, 5, and her Portland, Ore., home and moved back to Ohio.
“I lived away from my family for my son’s first five years. I just think it’s really important that he knows who grandma and grandpa are, my cousins,” she said. “And after having gone through a divorce, it’s just nice to have my family there.”
Bowersox will sport a new look and play some fresh music when she performs a free concert at 10 p.m. April 5 in the Hollywood Casino H Lounge.
The dreadlocks are gone.
“They were really long; they were really heavy,” the 28-year-old said. “I don’t feel like my hair defines me or anything like that; it was just time.”
During a call from the road en route to a show in Rockport, Mass., Bowersox talked about an EP that will be released soon.
“I did some recording about a year and a half ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and these recordings were kind of put up on the shelf for a little while. I’m happy to finally finish them up and release them,” she said. “That should be sometime this spring, like May or June.”
“Sunshine Brighter” is a track on that EP, and the singer-songwriter said she’ll play it in Toledo.
“It’s a happier tune, you know, just the people in your life who bring that kind of light to your world,” she said about the song.
“The EP is going to be the same rootsy, rock kind of thing, what I regularly enjoy doing.”
But don’t expect to see Bowersox gambling before or after the show.
“I like to take risks, but not with money,” she said and laughed.
The star didn’t think it was a gamble to release “Coming Out at Christmas” for the holidays last year.
“I thought that was an important song in this day and age,” she said. “The holidays are about being with family regardless of whom you love, and there are young people who have been kicked out of their homes because of their sexual orientation.
“That doesn’t make sense to me that someone would raise a child and love them their entire life and then find out that they’re gay and then all of a sudden all of it is changed. It doesn’t make sense. So the song is really for people struggling with that issue.”
For the record, the singer tweeted she’s bisexual.
“When I was on ‘Idol,’ I was constantly being judged; it doesn’t affect me. It’s someone else’s opinion,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that I would change or live my life in a different way because of how somebody else feels about me or my life.
“I want to be my authentic self, and I think if everyone would just be their authentic self, that we’d all be a little bit happier in this world. People can think what they want to think, but I’m living my life and I’m a healthy, happy girl, and my son is happy and healthy, and that’s all I really care about.”
What’s life like for the real Crystal?
“I don’t think it’s too exciting. I’m either knitting or hanging out with my friends or sleeping — sleeping is nice,” she said.
Get this — she knits socks.
“ I’ve always knitted socks. It’s a total coincidence — Bowersox, socks.”
She’s still planning to play Cline on Broadway: “They’re doing script rewrites,” she said. “As soon as I have any news, it’ll be up on my site.”
Meanwhile, fans can expect the Elliston, Ohio, native to bring her powerful voice and heartfelt performance back to the Glass City.
“I just want [fans] to feel how raw and real my emotion is when I’m singing because they’re coming to my therapy session, basically,” Bowersox said and laughed. “And maybe it’s therapeutic for them, too. I just want people to leave the show feeling happy or uplifted or moved in some way.”
