We recently had the chance to connect with Kiersten Rae Lasley and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kiersten Rae, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
When I was a little kid, I would pull the dress-up box out, put on the sparkliest princess dress I could find (complete with a pink feather boa around my neck), and gather my parents and eye-rolling older brothes into the living room so that I could perform for them. Sometimes I would sing a Disney song I was obsessed with and other times I would just make a song up on the spot. I would raise my hands, dance and jump around with absolutely no fear. I would ask my dad to dig out the camcorder and even have him flip the screen around so that I could see myself. But as I grew up, the performances happened less and less, until eventually they stopped completely. I would still play piano and sing songs that I wrote, but with a closed door, a quiet voice and the soft pedal pressed. My dream of being an artist mutated over time to just being a writer. I closed that other part of myself off completely. In college, I spent 4 years studying songwriting and didn’t play out once. After graduation, I’d get asked to play at writers rounds every so often, but quickly found that I had developed major stage fright. On show days, I’d be sick to my stomach from the moment I’d wake up and couldn’t do anything else but practice and panic until I was up on stage. With my voice and hands shaking over the keys, I would just try to get through it as fast as I could. What happened? How did I go from a no-shame, wanna-be Hannah Montana, to that? I don’t fully know the answer to that question and am still trying to figure it out. Yes, the more I’ve forced myself out of my comfort zone, the easier it has gotten. But the fear is not gone by any means, And even in the midst of this struggle, I still feel called to release my creativity into the world, instead of hiding it in my room. I don’t ever want to lose the writer part of me, but I do want to find that little artist in me once again. This question of “Hi Kiersten Rae, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?” is an interesting one – because I’m still afraid. But that doesn’t have to dictate my answer. I’m simply going to do it afraid. Nothing is really in motion yet for this artist project and new chapter in my story. There will be a lot of hard work ahead. But I think the hardest part just might be deciding to say “yes” to the call itself.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kiersten Rae Lasley and I am a songwriter in Nashville TN. I write songs 5 days a week and work mostly in pop, country, folk and Christian. I’ve had some exciting opportunities through the years, including winning the 2024 Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Annual Song Contest, winning the 2024 ASCAP Peggy Lee Songwriter Award, receiving the 2024 Bob Kingsley Award for most songs in the NSAI Top 40 list, having a couple cuts featured on RadioSoBro Nashville, being a semi-finalist in American Songwriters 2023 annual contest, being a finalist in U.S.A Songwriting’s 2022 annual contest, placing TOP 10 in NSAI’s 2022 Global Chapter Challenge and being named “One’s To Watch” by NSAI.
I recently launched a ministry called “Verse Of The Day Songs.” Everyday I turn the Youversion Bible verse of the day into a little song to help get God’s Word written on your heart & stuck in your head. This has been such a blessing to get to do & I’m very grateful for how much it’s grown in such a short time! Verse Of The Day Songs can be found on Instagram, Facebook & Youtube!
I’m also beginning my journey as an artist and will be starting on a new project soon.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Who was I before the world told me who to be? A child of God. It’s easy for me to get swept up in searching for my identity in success or in my craft, but it’s an endless search that will never lead to an answer. I have to bring myself back to where I can actually find my identity and that is found only in Christ. Psalm 139:13-14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well.”
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
One fear that has held me back is worrying about what others will think of me. I put so much pressure on myself during every meeting, write and performance because I want to be seen as more than good enough. I also often fight this tug to pursue what others define success as, rather than really thinking about what success means for me. This is something I am currently working through, but I just try to bring it back to focusing on my identity in Christ and what God thinks of me, rather than what the world thinks of me.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I would hope my closet friends would say that what really matters to me is my relationship with God and the people I love. I don’t just want to talk the talk, I want to live out the fruits of the Spirit in my life in every word I say and every action I do. I fail at this time and again, but I always try to bring myself back to Jesus and His word. To quote one of my songs, I truly believe the “point of my life is to point it to His!”
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I have lived in so many answered prayers of mine. And instead of acknowledging them or being grateful, I’ve just moved on to the next thing, prayed the next prayer and worked towards the next goal. I often think once I get xyz then I’ll feel successful or then I can relax. But when xyz happens, it is never satisfying. There’s always something else, some new thing that I have to work at. Because this can be such a tempting, endless cycle, I try to practice gratitude every morning so I can more easily recognize the blessings and answered prayers throughout my day. No earthly pursuit will ever fully satisfy, only Jesus can do that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kierstenraemusic.wixsite.com/kierstenraelasley
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kierstenraelasley/#
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerseOfTheDaySongs/shorts
Image Credits
Danielle Hickman
