Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney “Coco” Groves. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Courtney “Coco” Groves was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and knew she loved to perform at a young age. Although she wasn’t in her first cover band until 2020, she has been seen performing all over the US. In 2011, Coco got a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University Of WI- Stevens Point and immediately started performing professionally in musicals throughout the Twin Cities.
After being in MN for a while she started performing in other states as well and in 2015 Coco joined the group Letters From Home and toured all over the United States performing (singing and tap dancing) for veterans, active military, and their families. After doing that for around three years, she jumped on a cruise ship as a resident performer for six months, and once home she decided it was time for a change. Within 4 months of coming back to MN, she decided to move to Nashville TN thanks to a Cirque Du Soileau vocalist audition in Nashville.
While there she remembered her love for the city and, although she could have moved to vegas and been a vocalist with Cirque, she felt like Nashville was home. The rest, as they say, is history! Coco has now been playing on Broadway in Nashville and at Corporate gigs around the US for over 2 years. You can catch her and her band ” Coco And The Nash” every Thursday- Saturday 6-10 on Broadway at either Lucky Bastards or Whiskey River.
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?
Haha Absolutely not. When I moved to Nashville, it was February of 2020 and I knew no one. To say it was an eventful first year is an understatement. I decided to get to know the neighborhoods of Nashville before I picked an apartment complex to make sure I was somewhere I loved and I did this by renting an Airbnb in 5 points for a month. The end of my time there was about two days away and that’s when it happened… The 2020 Tornado ripped through East Nashville and German Town.
I straight up went through the very center of that tornado, luckily the converted garage I was staying in was fine but the house next door wasn’t so lucky. After that, I moved into an apartment in Hermitage and when I got there found a bunch of cockroaches living the dream in my closets. It was my worst nightmare haha I hate bugs! Some good luck came to me right after all of that though, I got hired on broadway within the first month or so of moving here.
Unfortunately, that was also short-lived because everything then shut down for Covid. I will say though I’ve had way more amazing experiences than bad ones and I love living in Nashville.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What do I do? Primarily, I am a singer/front person and a band leader but I also sell horror-themed designs on my Etsy page! I actually started doing the Etsy shop because I needed an outlet for my ADHD and art is something that’s easy for me to focus on.
I have had a love for music my whole life. I love the variety, the feeling, and the complexity of it but I think the most magical part is how music makes people feel. After moving here and starting to play on Broadway, I was really surprised at the lack of diversity. Most of the artists that played downtown looked the same, sounded the same, and were singing the same songs.
With so much amazing music out there and so many amazing performers in town, I didn’t understand why Music City wasn’t embracing the diversity in music. That is what our band aims to do- showcase styles of music you don’t typically hear downtown and celebrate what makes people uniquely them. We will play anything from Lizzo to Motley Crue and always try to make our shows a celebration.
If you were to come to one of our shows it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to dance to the YMCA, rock out to Tubthumping, twerk to Lizzo, and then line dance to Footloose. It’s important to us that the audience knows we are there for them and that we will always give 100% to make sure their time in Nashville is a blast.
What makes you happy?
My bandmates! They are the most talented, kind, and generous people I have ever met. Each one of them brings something so unique to the table for our gigs and I just enjoy spending time with them generally speaking.
Outside of music, I love to spend time with my doggy Winnie The Pooh-dle Doodle, and play video games on our PS5, and paddleboard.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cocoandthenash.wixsite.com/mysite
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/CocoAndTheNash
- Other: https://linktr.ee/cocoandthenash
