We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brina Kay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brina, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being an artist is tough. That is an understatement. The highs are amazing but the lows make you question everything. I have been a swinging pendulum ever since I decided to move to Nashville. The longest I’ve been able to keep a day job is a year. Throw a pandemic in the mix and lose out on your early 20s and you can feel all the more behind. I look online and see people I went to high school with buying houses and having babies, meanwhile I’m selling off my furniture just to make rent this month. I haven’t saved any retirement and the small bit I did have I had to spend on essentials. I’ve taken out two big loans now in order to record my music. I also have a sleep schedule that makes it really difficult to work a normal 9 to 5. I know my life would be a lot easier and more stable if I wasn’t an artist, but I also feel like it would be less meaningful. I could be having the worst time, losing everything, and wanting to give up, and then one good show will remind me why I chose this and why it’s worth it. At the end of the day, we’re just tiny specks in this vast universe and our lifetimes are little blips in the grand scheme of things. When I die I’m not going to remember how responsible and comfortable I was, I’m going to remember the big moments that the sacrifices made worth it. Even if I never become a big star, I’ve already made so many incredible memories and have done things most people will never get to do because they were too afraid to try. My hope is that my music will outlive me, not just in a literal sense, but in the lives it touches. If I can make a difference for even one person in that way it’s worth it. That is what keeps me going.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been into music since I was a little kid. I always had too much energy, so musical theatre was a great outlet. From there I fell in love with being on stage. I also started playing violin in kindergarten so my brain was wired to think musically from the get-go. In high school, I kind of got away from music and got more involved in sports like cheerleading and soccer, but I eventually found my way back towards my senior year. When I went to college I majored in journalism but ended up signing up for dance, theatre, and music classes simply because I missed them (I clearly wasn’t thinking about money at this point.) After I graduated (after switching my major three times and somehow ending a semester early) I realized that if I didn’t follow my music dream now, I never would. I’d get a journalism job and before I knew it, my life would just start happening to me. So I took the initiative and moved down to Nashville and I’ve been giving my dream my all ever since. I write all kinds of music, but the music I release as an artist is country pop with a musical theatre influence. I work with a producer whose own style is cinematic rock, so what we’re able to create ends up being really cool and I think unique. My biggest influences are The Chicks, they taught me from a young age that as an artist it’s more important to stand for something than to try to get everybody to like you, so I try my best to stay true to myself. What I think sets me apart is the fact that I’ve turned my entire singer/songwriter journey into something fans can follow. I have a blog where I detail everything that is happening in my life, even the ugly parts. I think social media makes it really easy to project a perfect image of yourself, and a lot of people have told me that my blog is refreshing because it makes them feel like they’re not alone, which means a lot. I try to be as authentic as possible, and I think my music reflects that as well.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest thing I had to learn when I decided to pursue art is that it is not a competition. Growing up playing sports, I’ve always been a fierce competitor, and for many aspects of my life, that has helped set me apart and made me succeed. So naturally, I applied the same concept to my musical endeavors. I think growing up and watching shows like American Idol, it’s easy to see your peers as adversaries. It’s easy to feel like you’re always competing for streams, radio airplay, shows, awards, press, etc. Nashville really taught me that art thrives in a collaborative environment. I’ve gotten so many opportunities to learn and grow simply because nice people gave me a chance or lent me a helping hand. It turns out that when you see people as collaborators instead of competitors, it creates more opportunities for everyone involved. It’s so much more fun and so much less anxiety-inducing to cheer people on instead of sizing them up.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to drastically pivot when the pandemic hit. Leading up to it, my goal was to put together a full band and start playing bigger shows. I had my first full band show booked and had a rehearsal, bought a new dress, and pretty much everything was going according to plan. The week of my show was the week the world shut down, and as we now know, it stayed shut down for more than just a couple of weeks. Since playing live shows became out of the question, I pivoted to recording a new EP and growing my social media following on Tiktok. I now have over 22 thousand followers on the platform and six brand-new songs I plan to release in the spring.

Contact Info:

• Website: brinakaymusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brinakaymusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrinaKayMusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brinakaymusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrEyWZ7SqyXfBVeiPwu4EeQ
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brinakaymusic

Image Credits
Brave Enough Productions