We recently connected with Mackynsie Mckedy and have shared our conversation below.

Mackynsie , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Growing up in a musical family, I knew from an early age that I would play music. When my grandpa first put a fiddle in my hands at 6 years old I remember being in awe of the instrument and watching him play inspired me te keep working at it. The very first time I stepped up on a stage was at 7 years old to sing “Coal Miners Daughter” with my dad and I knew then that I liked being on the stage and I felt at home. But the moment I really knew that I wanted to seriously pursue a career in country music for the rest of my life was when I actually got to see my idol Loretta Lynn in concert at 13 years old. There was this moment when I looked around and everyone in the audience was singing along word for word to “You ain’t woman enough to take my man” that I knew that one day I wanted to look out in the audience and hear people singing my songs word for word just like they did with Loretta. I have been chasing that dream ever since and now when I’m up on stage and I see people singing back my songs to me from the audience I see my 13 year old self with her big dreams and I feel forever grateful to God, my family and my mentors for allowing that dream to come true.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Mackynsie McKedy and I am from the small town of McLoud, OK. I grew up in a musical family as my dad Byron McKedy is a singer, guitar player, pedal steel guitar player and a songwriter. My grandpa plays the fiddle and he got me started playing fiddle when I was six years old. When my little brother, Austin began showing interest in music and playing the guitar my brother, my dad and I started playing music together across Oklahoma at festivals, nursing homes, and other events to pay our dues as The McKedy Band. Now we still play together to this day and have performed across the country with eachother. My brother Austin and I started recording with Curt Ryle with Clarksville Creative Sound back in 2022 and we now are now both signed artists with Clarksville Creative Sound and have multiple singles and music videos out on our social media’s and YouTube Channels. Aside from being a country music artist I also have a passion for using my love for music to help others which is why I decided to go to college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University to pursue a degree in Music Therapy. I am currently a junior at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and I was crowned Miss SWOSU/Weatherford 2024 and competed for the job of Miss Oklahoma 2024. At Miss Oklahoma I was honored to be named the Rookie and Overall Talent Winner, Rookie of the Year and I was a top 15 semi-finalist. I am now the current Miss Lincoln County 2025 and will be returning to the Miss Oklahoma stage in June 2025. I am most proud of being able to share music with my family and of course it is always amazing to be recognized especially together as a family! I love bringing joy to others through my passion for music and it all began by playing country music and western swing with my family.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when I look out from the stage and I see people out on the dance floor with smiles on their face. Spending time with their loved ones, family and friends. It’s the fellowship that comes from being an artist and the community that uplifts me every single day that keeps me waking up every morning to continue to pursue my dreams. It’s the comments I get from people who listen to my music that tell me my songs helped them in some way, shape or form. It’s the younger generation that come up to me after shows asking me how I learned to play the fiddle and going home to tell their parents they want to do that too. All of these factors make the blood, sweat and tears of being an artist worth it and I wake up every morning grateful for another day to share the love of God and good country music.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience is something that is not an option but a requirement if you want to be an artist of any kind especially in the music business. I learned from an early age that I had to be resilient if I wanted to be a serious musician. The first moment of resiliency that sticks out in mind is a moment when I was first starting out in my musical journey. I was only about 9 or 10 years old and at the time and my dad had his own band and he called me up on stage to sing Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.” I remember looking out in the audience and it was the biggest crowd I had been in front of at the time and I panicked. I couldn’t remember the lyrics to the song so I ran off the stage. Soon my dad came back stage and encouraged me to go back out. He told me that the people were expecting me to sing the song and I needed to go back out there and do the song I had agreed to do. He told me you don’t back out on your commitment so I wiped my tears and went back out there and sang the song without a single wrong lyric. There have been plenty of moments since then that I have needed to be resilient. Time and time again I have been told that I wasn’t going to make it in the music business, that the genre of music I wanted to bring back was dying and I should focus on something else. But I never let that get me down because I will not let traditional country music and western swing die. I want to be the one that “fills their shoes” as George Jones sings and the only way to get there is to remain resilient no matter what challenges I have to overcome.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MackynsieMcKedyMusic.com
• Instagram: mackynsiemckedymusic
• Facebook: MackynsieMcKedyMusic
• Twitter: TheMcKedys
• Youtube: MackynsieMcKedyMusic

Image Credits

Tracie McKedy

Matt Boyd Photography