We were lucky to catch up with Kylee Phillips recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kylee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I’ve always sought to have a “real job” that somehow relates to my creative work – I used to work for a corporate entertainment company and for the past decade or so I have worked for a music booking agency in addition to working as a musician and performer. Growing up my dad really instilled in me the idea that you can be a grown up and take care of your family without having to give up the things you love, and for me earning my living through my day job means my passion can stay my passion. I feel really fortunate to have the flexibility to do both.
Kylee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve been singing and writing just about as long as I can remember, but it took a long time for me to gather the courage to really make a go of the music thing. Sometimes I feel sad or embarrassed that I spent so much time in that fearful place, but the up side is that now I’m really confident in my voice as a writer and a performer and I know exactly the sound and community I want to create.
The EP I put out last year (“Long Time Coming”) felt like exactly the right way to “officially” introduce myself to folks. The songs have an emotional depth I couldn’t have achieved 15 years ago, and sonically they have the cinematic, indie-pop sound that I’ve always dreamt of but wouldn’t have been able to pull off without the right team. I’m trusting that everything is coming together at the right time.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
In the past collaboration was really intimidating to me – it can feel really vulnerable and scary or just plain awkward *laughs* – but in the past few years I’ve been more intentional about seeking it out and it’s been such a gift. Working with my producer (Evan Eliason) and running songs past other songwriters has been a game changer, and of course working with my partner, Chris DuPont, has changed everything for the better – he’s become such an integral part of everything I do.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Chris (DuPont) and I met back in 2013 when we were both appearing on Tree Town Sound (a radio show on Ann Arbor’s 107.1). I was incredibly intimidated by him and I’ve since found out that he felt the same. We ran in the same circles and shared various bills for about a decade, all the while I kept offering to be his backup singer or something but he never took me up on it. (He claims that he didn’t feel he’d “earned it yet,” but I’m not sure I believe him.) In 2021 he finally asked me to play keys and sing with him for a gig and very quickly we realized that we had a really special blend. Since then we’ve been pretty inseparable; In addition to playing on each other’s solo projects we formed a duo called DuPont Phillips and released our first EP in April 2024.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kyleephillips.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyleephillipsmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyleephillipsmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kyleephillipsmusic
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Vb0h1uB69m6FotyxyB8z7?si=Bh9DttN6R12EJg2AoTNwyA
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kyleephillipsmusic
Image Credits
Photo 1: Kris Herrmann
Photo 2: Matt Eastman
Photo 3: Leisa Thompson
Photo 4-5: Misty Lyn Bergeron