Daily Inspiration: Meet Kaylen, Kelsey & Kristen Kassab of The K3 Sisters Band

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaylen, Kelsey & Kristen Kassab.

Hi Kaylen, Kelsey & Kristen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Kaylen: My full name is Kaylen Michelle Kassab, I’m 25 and a Virgo. My two sisters’ names are Kelsey Rose Kassab, she’s 23 and a Gemini. Then there is the “fireball” Kristen Victoria Kassab who is 21 and a Capricorn.

Kelsey: All of our names start with the letter K, and we are sisters so we picked K3 Sisters Band as our name. That’s the most common name we go by in addition to K3 and K3SB. But, there are more. Fans have affectionately coined other names for us that they use on comments during certain songs or in general on our live stream chats during concerts and meetups. For instance, there is K3 Kelsey, K3 Kaylen and K3 Kristen. We are also known as the Golden Trio and Power of 3.

Kristen: When Kaylen dons the harmonica ala Bob Dylan, the feed fills up with “Bobbette Dylan!” Another frequent one for her is KayKay.

Kaylen: Okay let’s see…for Kristen we see K3 Rizzten, and Queen because of her Harry Potter related “stage antics” in our song Queen Bellatrix. She is also called Draca because her Hogwarts house is Slytherin signifying her fondness for fellow Slytherin Draco Malfoy. These names are fun for our K3SB FAM which is what our fans have labeled themselves. But that’s another story!

Voyager: Let’s explore that story for a moment. How did the K3SB FAM originate, and how has it impacted you and your followers?

Kristen: Well, it was our fans who began testing different names for themselves. One early attempt that faded into history was K3 Sisters Squad which lasted for a few years in the early days of our career which began in 2009.

Kelsey: When the idea of K3SB FAM, which is short for K3 Sisters Band Family began showing up, it caught on like wildfire. Looking back, we believe it was a response to the fact that we enjoy connecting with our fans in ways that encourage and support them for being who they are. A big part of that is also related to how and why we created our #K3Motto. Maybe we can talk about our motto later.

Kaylen: Before we move on, let me say that we have been influenced and inspired by the ways in which fans of the Grateful Dead have labeled themselves Deadheads. Such fandoms have to develop organically over time. They can’t be manufactured. We are grateful for this. No pun intended!

Voyager: Where were each of you born and raised?

Kristen: All three of us were born and raised in Dallas, Texas. But, we grew up hearing all kinds of foreign languages and English speaking accents.

Kaylen: Yes, our musical journey started in the Lone Star State, but we were born into a 4th generation musical family with an astonishing cultural diversity. Our heritage includes Scotland, Cuba, France, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This, in addition to our US ancestors who settled in both southern and northern states.

Kelsey: If you drill down into the 7 musical genres we navigate, you will realize that our musical brand is a “hidden in plain sight” pastiche of all of these wonderful world cultures.

Voyager: Wow! So what are those 7 genres? Give us a few examples.

Kelsey: Our paternal grandmother was born in Scotland, and we grew up hearing the bagpipes and the Celtic sounds which also made it into the mountain music of the US. So, we do have songs that have pennywhistle, electric bagpipes and of course fiddles! We write ballads similar to the old English ballads, as well as whimsical “pub-like” numbers.

Kaylen: Getting a bit more analytical, different musicologists place our overall sound into several categories including folk-rock, light-pop, Americana, roots, country-rock, 70’s rock and a new term known as comfort music.

Voyager: How did your musical journey begin?

Kristen: We all took private violin lessons starting at 3 years old. Singing lessons too. We were on hundreds of stages as kids because in Texas the fiddle is king. My earliest memories are of vintage rock ‘n roll, bluegrass, gospel, Western swing and folk music being played on stage and at family gatherings. My sisters were frequently brought up on stages as a novelty act that got huge applauses. I could not wait to join them!

Voyager: What inspired you to pursue a career in music?

Kaylen: Our parents were both schoolteachers, entertainers and producers so in order to do their thing they decided to home school us. We have never attended a public school except to perform dozens of full concerts for entire student bodies in their cafetoria, gymnasium or local arenas.

Kelsey: Yes, looking back we now see that all of our studies revolved around music and the entertainment world in one way or another. It colored our world view, and led to all three of us embracing music, production and song writing as a career.

Kristen: Our parents took us to their performances and programs in many cities and we got hooked real quickly on the way crowds of all ages loved what we did when we got the chance to perform cameos. Also, in the early years of our career, our folks sponsored hundreds of home school workshops and programs for non-profit fundraisers during which we were acting, singing, dancing, performing on instruments and setting up sound and camera equipment.

Voyager: When did the 3 of you start creating original music together?

Kaylen: After a few years of performing covers of all kinds and improvising on instrumental breaks consistent with the jams which we were attending, we began to think about writing and arranging our own stuff.

Kelsey: After different attempts, a catalytic event occurred which we will never forget. We were being invited to perform at festivals, fairs and theme parks like Six Flags Over Texas, and one of the promoters at a huge food tasting festival where we were scheduled to perform contacted us and asked if we had heard about their original song writing competition. We hadn’t.

Kristen: We found out the deadline was in a few hours, so we got together and wrote, recorded and filmed our original song The Party Never Ends submitting it minutes before the deadline. It turned out that we won the $5,000.00 first place prize! Then we blew all the winnings on a Caribbean cruise.

Kaylen: And that aha!-haha! moment changed everything. We began writing song lyrics and music, focusing on three-part harmony arrangements that fit in with our vibes, current events, and issues we and our generation were facing. And that’s what we continue to do. We hold full songwriter and publishing rights to over 100 original songs with at least 20 more originals in our active pipeline.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Kristen: First and foremost is was Kaylen just said. We insist on controlling our destiny and brand by owning our content, copyrights and publishing. Artificial intelligence is a potential menace to artists like us as Paul McCartney recently warned, but we are going to fight to keep on top.

Kelsey: We have been approached by television shows and record labels to cut deals, but thanks to our home school education, which when it came to business economics included reading and understanding contract law, we knew they were not good deals. We never signed. That might change someday, you never know.

Kaylen: With the advent of social media post pandemic, we have been able to go direct to fans around the world without the need for super expensive tours and advertising. We are reaching over 60 countries and have over 2 billion views and counting across our diverse social media.

Kristen: We remain open to discussing deals with agents, producers and concerns that are serious, however, like a company with stock that has not yet “gone public”, we are increasing our creative and distribution values. If we ever “go public” when it comes to the investment side of our multi-pronged DIY business model it will be on our terms. Some lucky agents, promoter or corporation will make a lot of money with us someday, but we will always take care of our K3SB FAM. That’s a solemn commitment.

Kaylen: This question is so relevant to established artists as well as emerging artists. For years we have been investing in the stock market and combined with our revenues from social media companies we are able to offer all our music for free to our K3SB FAM and millions of fans around the world that we care about. All our music remains free exclusively at k3sistersband.com. You won’t find us on Spotify or Apple Music.

Voyager: Earlier you mentioned that you created a band motto. What is it, and how does your motto tie in to your brand’s paradigm?

Kelsey: The #K3Motto is:

I will always believe in myself and celebrate my life and the lives of others.

I will respect the music and customs of others as long as they are not harmful to anyone.

I will stand against bullying of any kind and choose love over hate.

Kaylen: In the past we were bullied both online and at live stage events. Some big venues where we have performed had stage managers, sound engineers, and city staff that were very insensitive and downright cruel to us. This shocked and demoralized us. Also, cyber-bullying is very real and hurts just as bad. So, we wrote our #K3Motto as a mission statement, but we had no idea how it would sweep the planet in the ways that it has.

Kristen: Over the years, literally thousands of pre-teens, teens, parents and citizens of our great world who are oppressed have found comfort, encouragement and light in our motto which is not religious or political in nature. It’s just a simple way to promote good vibes, peace and support for all people regardless of culture, race or socio-economic levels.

Kaylen: The motto has been translated into many languages, and we have locker and refrigerator magnets of it in multiple languages that are in daily view of thousands of K3SB FAM, their friends and families. It’s another way we are trying to make the world a better place in which to live with our music and brand.

Voyager: Have you ever received support or recognition from any established artists or concerns worth noting.

Kelsey: We’ve had artists such as Billie Eilish, Meghan Trainor and BJ Thomas like or comment on our social media posts, however, most of the artists on major record labels are restricted by contract in ways that eliminate the possibility of collaborations or disclosing the realities of their relationships which are tightly controlled and suppressed by non-disclosure agreements and heavy-handed marketing controls.

Kristen: We wrote a song and music video that was featured in the Smithsonian Museum Of American History’s exhibit “Girlhood It’s Complicated” created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th US amendment giving women the right to vote. It’s our song My Time which is on our YouTube channel. The exhibit continues to tour the USA.

Kaylen: The Wrap’s Power Women’s Summit billed us alongside legends Annie Lennox and Melissa Etheridge.

Voyager: Are there any moments in your journey you’d change if you could?

Kaylen: In the early days our creative juices were interrupted far too long when we were solicited by television shows and traveled to auditions for producers to hear and see us, and then waited, over-revving for them to respond. We didn’t realize that these “talent shows” and competitions are primarily promoting the judges not the artists with few exceptions. But, the dream of being on national television is a powerful and paralyzing elixir!

Kelsey: The contracts they urged us to sign to move forward were terrible, and took a lot of time to read, debate and understand. Sometimes we sought advice from entertainment attorneys that were shocked and concerned at how complicated and frankly abusive these contracts were. We don’t even review these offers at this time in our career.

Kristen: Okay, let me spill some tea here. I truly wish we had walked off stage more than we ever did when we were “getting the business” from stagehands or promoters. We walked off occasionally, but I regret caving in to some of this “stuff.” My advice to emerging artists is to keep your dignity and never let anyone demean you in private or in public. It’s not good for your image or psyche in the short and long run. Money and fame are fleeting and abusive masters at times. Making a difference in the world is lasting and better.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Kristen: One exciting development is that we launched our K3SB Radio which is a unique way of presenting our music with introductory or explanatory comments before the songs which are curated from live concert performances as well as studio recordings. All the K3SB Radio episodes are on our website.

Kelsey: The K3SB Radio episodes have become another one of the ways that we cater to fans who are interested in detail and little-known facts about our songs, attitudes, and back to back comparisons that show different ways we approach the same song over the years.

Kaylen: We are thrilled to say that in addition to Japan discovering us because of our name songs we sing in Japanese, we have another country discovering us. Brazil! We’re experiencing millions of views from this exciting fan base. The language of Brazil is Portuguese, and we just love the energy and fire of the Brazilian culture’s love for music. We are going to continue expanding our name song repertoire by singing in several other languages during this year.

Kristen: We are continuing to interact with fans on our frequent live stream concerts and informal meetups, and in an effort to connect in person with our fans, this year we will expand our appearances at entertainment related conventions such as Anaheim VidCon, New York Comic Con, Anime conventions, Orlando Informer Meetups at Universal Studios and Disney to name a few. Of course, we will be live streaming from the cons for those who can’t make it, but want to enjoy the fun.

Kaylen: Since we have worked with Warner Brothers to promote many of their premieres of films such as Elvis, Suicide Squad, The Batman, Barbie, Secrets of Dumbledore, Shazam and Black Adam; we are ready, willing and able to write original soundtracks or license one or more of our original songs for any major or emerging film producers. Contact us interested film makers!

Voyager: Are you planning to release another album this year?

Kelsey: Yes! We are back in our recording studio recording several new original songs, as well as blocking several new music videos for a few of these new songs, as well as several existing songs. It’s hard to believe this will be our 15th album to date! And as usual, we will continue to do all the recording, mixing, filming and editing for these exciting projects.

Kelsey: We have been archiving a ton of behind the scenes and candid footage of our rehearsals, including hours of pre-and post-concert chaos in full length horizontal layouts. Plus, we have carefully preserved a repository of uncut footage from of our hundreds of concerts and meetups over the years, all for a future docudrama or bio film about our unique story. Something like what Peter Jackson did with his deep dive into the Beatles on his Get Back documentary is a dream and we think it would be fascinating for any music loving audience.

Voyager: Any final thoughts or insights?

Kristen: As I mentioned earlier, we are open to considering opportunities including endorsements or sponsorships. Our younger audiences are maturing each year, and since we are playing the “long game” we are betting that they will emerge as a powerful international commercial force in time. There is nothing as constant as change, and we embrace that fact.

Kaylen: We continue to mail out lots of free band merch to our K3SB FAM as part of our way of giving back to our fans. For instance, all of our super chats, gifts and donations go 100% to produce and ship our merch for free here in the US and internationally. We want to increase the support of our fans in this way. To that end, we are looking to 2026 and 2027 to potentially appear on several US or international festival stages or venues if the remuneration is enough for us to turn a profit so we can further subsidize gifts and support to our growing K3SB FAM.

Kelsey: Many of our fans are unable to purchase concert tickets, travel or ever afford to buy the band merch on our website. Doing nice things for them and new fans that discover the K3 Sisters Band is well worth it to us!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.k3sistersband.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k3sistersband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k3sisters/
• LinkedIn: https://www.threads.net/@k3sistersband
• Twitter: https://x.com/k3sistersband?s=11
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyd1FQbwxPyOACQuYgFzsJg
• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/k3sistersband
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@k3sistersband