Check Out Kate Boytek’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Boytek.

Hi Kate, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in the southern coalfields of West Virginia. My mom was a single mom and a beautician, I watched her work hard my whole life to make ends meet.

In her spare time, she would enter singing competitions and practice on the karaoke machine in my grandpa’s garage, that’s my earliest memory of singing, in my grandpa’s garage on a cassette tape karaoke machine to early 90s Reba hits with my mom. I entered my first talent show at five years old at a local county fair in Matewan, WV, I wore a head-to-toe pink cowgirl outfit and sang “Sea of cowboy hats” trying my best to follow along to the choreography my mom was reminding me of from the side stage. I also grew up singing in church with my grandma, pretty much my whole family is musical in one way or another.

As a teenager, I continued singing in church and at local talent shows and also started singing for local charity events. By the time I reached my early 20s, I knew in my heart this was much more than a hobby for me. I began to pursue music as a full-time career and had landed some great opportunities throughout my early 20s, but life throws you curve balls and it became very clear that raising a family and pursuing music were not going to both happen if I were to have a peaceful home life, so I made the very difficult decision to put music on hold to be a wife and mother. I continued to write and sing in church and direct my church choir, but I thought a career in music for me may not happen…until it did. It turns out that even after doing everything I could to make it work including putting my musical dreams on the back burner, my marriage still fell apart. Now, with the full support of my two daughters and the rest of my family, I’m giving it 110% and nothing, or no one, will stand in my way again. It’s surreal for me to be here today, doing what I love. It’s even more surreal and incredibly amazing for me that I have the opportunity to now share this journey with my daughters and my family. We are a team in this, a full-circle support system. I feel so humbled and grateful to have been given such a gift of a career.

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?
It has not been a smooth ride; however, it has also not been as turbulent as others may have experienced. I know I say that I’m blessed a lot, but I truly feel that I have been.

There have been speed bumps, there have been tears, and there have been times when I didn’t know if things would continue to move forward. I’ve been happy, sad, exhausted, over the moon excited, broke, and counting change for gas, all the highs and all the lows, but for me, this is worth it and that has always and always will outweigh the valleys of this career.

I believe in my family & friends, in my team, in my fans and I believe in myself. There isn’t quit in me, so I will continue to push through and look at each obstacle as either a lesson for me or a lesson for someone else and try to make the most knowledgeable, moral, and balanced decision to move through it. If you keep your focus on love and good intentions, then love and good things will flow to you.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a singer and songwriter from West Virginia. I’ve never put a lot of thought into what I’m known for, so I’ve asked around and I’ll share the most common response – “the tone and sound of my voice”. I have a lower tone to my voice and although I enjoy going for those high notes, I typically stay around the low to mid-range of my vocal ability. My singing voice has been compared to a sound like “Trisha Yearwood and Wynonna & Cher”, which of course is an incredible honor and one of the most appreciated compliments I’ve ever received. I’ve idolized those artists among many others and have been so inspired by them throughout my life.

I am most proud of three main things in my life. My oldest daughter, my youngest daughter, and the effort that’s gone into my career from myself and everyone around me. It’s been a balancing act trying to make this work and be a full-time single mom, the saying it takes a village, is in full swing at the Boytek house. We have a system, everyone, me, my family, and all that help with my career, there’s lots of communication, and learning how to maintain stability and growth simultaneously has taken a lot of strategic planning and time, but we are doing it. We all work together and we all push for the same goals, so it’s been a wonderful journey to share.

I think there are some truly incredible and talented people in the world. I think people that go into this and look at those other artists as “competition” are missing out on opportunities to make new friends, to see another talented person achieve their dreams, to help others, and so many things. We all are unique and have things that set us apart. I’m a single mom from a small coal mining town in West Virginia, I have a very thick accent and couldn’t cook a decent meal to save my life, I’ve caught two microwaves on fire – haha.

I write songs from the deepest parts of my heart and soul and share them in the most unfiltered way I can because that helps me heal and I’m hoping that it helps heal the hearts of my fans that have experienced something similar, I leave everything I am on the stage and the connection I share with my audience lights up my entire life in all the best ways. I try every day to be the best person that I can be and give my best to add benefit and quality to those around me. Does that set me apart? I’ve never thought of it like that. I’m just myself and I will always do these things because I love life, I love people and I love music.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The Covid-19 crisis has had an impact on my life. I’m very fortunate that I didn’t experience it in some of the ways I’ve seen others and my love and prayers go out to any families that were affected.

From a career standpoint, there was so much worry and fear, and hope for me. Worry that if I went out to do a show (before the shutdown) that I would catch the virus and then bring it home to my family. Fear that I would never get to perform live again, never get to do meet and greets and hug my fans again, and then I had hope. I had an overwhelming amount of hope that everything would heal and be better. That thing would subside and we could continue with live music and real-life connection with people. I had hope for the sickness to end.

My time in quarantine was spent with my family. I stayed with my kids and soaked up each moment of that togetherness. I wrote new songs and sang them to my mom during our morning coffee time. I learned the true value of quality time and how to find inner peace. I learned to live in the now.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kateboytekofficial.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kateboytek?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kateboytek/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoytekKate
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kateboytek
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kTPsUrIuOpbHzY3Lk1ZRk?si=8M4KtpksRUK_BO5xhXoUhQ

Image Credits
Crissy Musick Photography, J.B. Lawe Vivian Short Photography, Chely Wright’s Sea Of Cowboy Hats