Daily Inspiration: Meet Zoe Cummins

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Cummins.

Hi Zoe, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up as the oldest of five girls in a small farming and ranching community in SW Oklahoma. I have a very similar story to most people here in town.

I raised livestock and played sports, but I was always singing, writing, creating, and begging for my mom to bring me to Nashville for the summer. I never imagined that I could have a career in the music industry until the very end of my senior year of high school. I was preparing to go to a state college to pursue a career in the agriculture industry when my aunt told my mom about the colleges here in Nashville. My parents and I made an agreement that I could move to Nashville if I attended and graduated from college.

At the very last minute, I applied to a school here, got accepted, and started packing my bags. I realize that college is not an option for so many, and it was such an easy way to move to another state, so I am grateful that my parents were looking out for me and helped make that a part of my reality.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Other than 2020? Haha.

The Country Music industry is still very much a good ol’ boys club, so I have definitely seen waves of men accomplish what female artists have set out to do with way less effort and uniqueness. Sadly, American Country music hasn’t been challenged to open up more for women despite growing interest from fans. Though I struggle with potentially blending in too much among other young female country artists from small towns, I used to consider myself lucky because the industry has carved out a few spots on the totem for women like me.

In so many ways, I’ve been blessed not to face the ongoing struggles of racism or neglect in the way that my non-white female friends and peers in the Country space have. However, all females struggle together in our lack of representation and leverage within the industry. On a good day it is helpful to be fighting the same battle and to support each other in our shared struggles. On some other days, it can be used against us and causes some women to turn on each other. The bottom line is that there should be room for all of us, and hopefully, we can continue to work together so that one day, the industry will honor that.

On the other hand, it may not be the first thing you notice about me, but I am a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I came out when I was 17, but I remember my family encouraging me to keep it to myself for the good of my career. My family was supportive of me in all ways; they just wanted the best for me, so it was a constant wedge in my life. Thankfully, in recent years, Country music has been way more welcoming to our community, and well-known artists have even felt the freedom to come out.

A few years ago, I was part of an event called Country Proud, which was the first-ever LGBTQIA+ official event at a major Country music festival (CMA Fest). I was so proud to be a part of such a historic event, but I was still faced with so much fear as the event received multiple bomb and gun violence threats, resulting in the need for added security. Tensions are high in the US right now, but art has always had the ability to bring people together and change culture. I hope to be an innovator and to positively contribute to that change.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I usually say that I am a songwriter first. I never had any formal training or lessons, so I leaned into the parts of songs that make them stand independently when you strip everything out besides a few chords. Having limited knowledge of music theory, I needed a way to compensate for the lack of instrumental complexity, so I typically wrote extra melodies or used lyrics as a tool to fill the space. As I started growing and realizing that music and sounds were limitless, I was really inspired by the EDM movement in mainstream Pop music.

I remember seeing a video on YouTube of Skrillex manipulating Justin Bieber’s vocals to sound like a new or obscure instrument for a song that they collaborated on. It was eye-opening to see that people could create such fun sections by just humming out what they were hearing in their heads. Now, we regularly see people like Charlie Puth sampling the sound of spoons hitting a coffee mug and turning it into a beat on a late-night show.

Country music is really organic and largely acoustic, but I love to bring in weird elements and strange sounds to make up for the fact that I won’t fill a void with a banjo riff or guitar solo. A lot of sessions in Nashville are set up where you hire the right instrumentalists and get to create very naturally in a room together for a few hours, then you’re pretty much done tracking.

I think of myself as a disrupter to this process because my co-creators and I typically spend so much more time playing around with different sounds and structures. I think my willingness to experiment in ways like that makes me unique as a Country artist.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think a good first step is looking into the credits of the music you love. Knowing which writers, producers, companies, etc, are collaborating on your favorite projects is the fastest way to get to the community you want to grow within. Oftentimes, the creators “behind the scenes,” like songwriters, are much easier to reach than the artists whose names are on the projects. Especially in Nashville, they are usually super accessible.

You might find those individuals helping with workshops, playing a free event in town, or just hanging out at a coffee shop. If you can figure out the people who inspire you the most, it will give you a guideline of where to go and who to reach out to.

Contact Info:

• Website: zoecumminsmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoecummins/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zoecumminsmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZoeCumminsMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOhXTkbJoiqiCyREkHz3SJw
• Other: http://zoecummins.komi.io

Image Credits
Katee Laine Cummins, Ryan Hamblin, and Sam Sardina