Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Kutter.
Hi Mary, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in the backwoods of Kentucky. As a kid, if the church doors were open, my folks had my booty there, and the rest of my time was filled with 4-H and marching band.
(you’re looking at the Washington County 4-H President and a 2x WCHS Marching Band State Champ’s Field Commander).
My piano teacher had some newborn kittens and she overheard me singing to them one day… and she taught me the song “Moon River” to surprise my parents at that piano recital…that was my “debut” of singing 🙂
I started singing at church as a teen and then began performing at local jamborees and fairs after high school. I became a regular in the Kentucky music scene.
I met a local radio station owner at one of my gigs and got offered a radio show hosting job in Bardstown, KY. It turned out to be my path to Nashville. I interviewed different singers and songwriters and began writing songs with them.
When I made the move to Nashville, the midtown songwriters round scene was really popping, and I started hosting different rounds. At night I would host and book the shows, and during the day, I would do 2-3 writing sessions a day, just trying to figure out the music business.
During the Covid lockdown, I wrote some songs that started moving the dial for me as a songwriter and I wrote my first gold and platinum hits for other artists in town. I had become the songwriter that would get the call to come help tell an artist’s story…I didn’t realize it then, but it ended up that my storytelling was just getting started.
I’ve been recording my debut album, and the music is made up of stories from where I grew up in the sticks of Kentucky, my family, ups and downs I personally lived through, and memoirs of folks I love that I put to music. Country music has always been a genre of storytelling, and I find myself most intrigued with stories about grit, resilience, and survival.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Right before I moved to Nashville, a friend set me up with a big music executive on Music Row. I was so excited. I walk into his office, sit down with my guitar… and before I even play a song, he looks at me and says, ‘There’s no reason for you to move here. Girls can’t make it in country music.’
I thought I misheard him. He said it again. Told me I was wasting my time. Said I should just stay in Kentucky.
I walked out to my car — I was driving this old Buick, couldn’t even roll the windows down — and I called my dad. I was crying. That was my first door slammed in my face in Nashville. My first real heartbreak.
And my dad said, ‘You’re never gonna forget this moment. And here’s what you’re gonna do — you’re gonna work harder than anyone else in that town. One day, you’re gonna make it… and that guy’s gonna be the one congratulating you.’
I thought, Yeah right. My dreams felt a million miles away.
Fast forward years later — just a couple months ago — I’m at an event and feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around… and it’s him. He doesn’t recognize me at all. Introduces himself like we’ve never met.
He starts telling me how he’s been following my career. Says I’m the blueprint for artists online. Loves my writing. Loves my voice.
I walked away, called my daddy, and said, ‘You might be a fortune teller.’
And that’s when it hit me — I’m really glad that when he didn’t believe in me… I chose to believe in myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
It seems like a lot of my music I write comes from the stories I heard growing up in Kentucky or things I saw in my neck of the woods. I love storytelling music that has a little bite and grit to it. My love of classic rock tends to find its way into to my live show with how I really put on a rock show with my music…
I feel really blessed to get to write music that says something. There’s some meat and potatoes to a lot of the music I’m naturally drawn to, and I want to help give a voice to the voiceless with my music.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Structure and discipline are everything to me. I wake up at 5am, journal, read, run five miles, and listen to a new album every single day. That was my New Year’s resolution—and I studied 365 albums last year. I love learning and constantly challenging myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marykutter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marykutter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.kutter
- Twitter: https://x.com/mary_kutter
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPlQ0k_v3XpDKiqnF63rNwA
