Life & Work with Kathryn Brooks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Brooks.

Kathryn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I began playing the guitar in the fifth grade when retired bluegrass musicians living outside of Bakersfield in the high desert of California heard about our school’s music program. They took an interest in donating instruments and teaching us bluegrass classics like I’d learned around the campfire with my family in Kentucky, so the songs felt natural to me. We moved to the east coast where I started songwriting and it was in New York City during college that I began releasing music and playing out seriously.

I wanted to be able to focus more solely on music and less on getting by in the city so I headed back to Louisville to record the songs I’d been writing and be in proximity to new cities like Nashville, Lexington, Chicago, Knoxville, etc. The community has been welcoming and from local radio to local music festivals my music is being shared to an audience whose roots stem back to those old bluegrass tunes too.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I started planning to move back to Louisville and its thriving music scene I never anticipated being part of the rebuilding of it after the pandemic. I heard story after story of how much was happening before I came in 2020 as we watched venue after venue close its doors. There was no recording, and there were no open studios, so I focused on writing and just made peace with whatever future music would have. Then things picked back up and the new struggle was actually finding somewhere to make the music.

I cut an album in a studio recommended to me by a friend. I’m holding onto those recordings but they weren’t exactly the image I first wanted to present. So I was back to square one, shows coming out but no music to show for it. A buddy and I started recording together but had to stop with only two home-recorded singles. Finally, another friend, local guitarist Anthony Keenan, offered to record my first EP,  his first time in the producer’s chair.

It could have gone a lot of different ways and even though it took us almost six months to get everything how we wanted it, the final product was worth all the late nights. Now, the struggles are how to promote the songs, book tours, record new material, and of course, how make money at this.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer and a writer. While recently down in Nashville listening to music, in response to admitting I was a singer-songwriter, I was told, “We’ve got enough of those.” A comment like that a decade ago may have stopped me from perusing this career but now I knew what the guy meant and what kind of singer-songwriter he was imagining as I said this. He’s singing honky tonk and has no idea some of my greatest influences and comparisons are Guy Clark, John Prine, Loretta Lynn, and other heroes I’m sure we have in common. But you might not be able to pick that up listening to the songs and I like it that way.

I always aimed to write unlike anyone else. One of the songs off my EP (Last Looks) has been complimented more than the others and it’s the most personal song on the project, one I was self-conscious of including because I was unsure if anyone would be able to relate to the specificity of it. When I sing the chorus of “When I Was” I can remember exactly who I was at 14, 17, and 23. Turns out others can too and I’m grateful to have written something that takes them out of the now. That’s what the old-time music of Broadway does for so many people. I don’t think there will ever be “enough of those.” Something that sets me apart as a writer too is having lived and written from so many different places and experiences.

Louisville, Kentucky to Victorville, California. Then to Kutztown, Pennsylvania, New York, New York, and back to Louisville. I even have a friend I co-write with who lives in Scotland and we met when my college-mate and I traveled to the Mule of Kintyre on a Wings pilgrimage last year. The hope of all this moving around is that there’s something from all these places that pours into the music no matter how subtle.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I don’t personally have a mentor and never really found someone still living who I perfectly look up to. But I get plenty of advice from those who are. People will always have an opinion and always give you advice. The best thing to learn quickly is to listen to all of it, politely, not taking anything to heart as the intention behind it is usually good. But just because you’ve listened to it, don’t think you have to take it.

I have a lot of great influences, mentors, fellow artists, and friends who have all provided great ideas without really knowing what I want or need. Often times, on the same point, I’ll have 3-4 different opinions offered. I’ve heard people get really upset at others for offering advice and mine is to listen and move on. When it comes to networking, I go back to being polite. Remember names, have a smile for everyone, and enjoy the ride.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mskathrynbrooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mskathrynbrooks/
• Youtube: @kathrynbrooksmusic

Image Credits
Valeria Martinez, Alex Doud, Lillian Brown, Allison Brooks, Ben Faulkner, and Jon Rothermel