We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Grand a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erin, appreciate you joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?
My parents are both big go getters. My mother in particular has amazing and big aspirations and goals and i’ve always looked up to that. Both my parents mind sets are to do what you love and make a career out of it. Mine happened to be music and I am incredibly blessed to have a family that is so incredibly supportive in whatever I do with that. academics were never really my thing and I knew college was not a calling for me either. My dad and mom happened to be the two who sparked the whole not going to college thing as an idea for me. I always thought I needed to go to college to be what I wanted to be, of course college has its purposes, but that is just so not that case especially in music. They taught me to work hard and to be proud of any result you get and to take every opportunity as just one more step to getting closer in my career I want.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Minnesota born and raised singer songwriter and I know am living out my dream here in beautiful Nashville, TN. I started in my church worship band and from there played out in cover bands/duo’s that I was a part of. Music and gigging was my only job I ever knew. It’s how i made my money all through middle school and high school. I’m so happy my parents let me have those experiences at such a young age and don’t shelter me too much from it. It has truly made me the performer I am today. I now am confidently living my dream and will continue to do so. I always say there is no plan b for me. It’s always music. I have had the honor of winning Female Vocalist of The Year for the past 3 years for The Midwest Country Music Organization. I’ve released my debut EP ‘Anything but Casual’ that is available on all streaming platforms and currently working on my next one, soon to be released later this year. My biggest influences are Maren Morris, Kassi Ashton, Caitlyn Smith (a minnesota native as well), Chris Stapleton just to name a few. My goal in music is to bring soul into country. I want to stand out in that way.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built my audience off of being myself. I think people sometimes get lost in their specific reason they’re creating this profile for but in reality we need to make connections with people and sometimes just posting about your product, brand, music whatever it may be, isn’t always the way to gain those people. I always show the real stuff and most of the time that isn’t music related! Of course you want to post your craft and promote but do it in a way that every can relate to. If you’re mainly posting about your music or product, maybe try posting a reel of you getting ready for your day, a day in the life, or a giveaway! Some of my favorite ways to gain fans and connect with the ones i have is to do a giveaway.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I think the biggest pivot in my career was my move to Nashville, TN. I was working and playing alongside an incredible duo partner I had. She was an anomaly when it came to guitar. When I had learned we both wanted different things it did scare me a bit. I didn’t think i’d be able to gig and move to nashville on my own. She went off to college and I just figured it out basically. I wanted it bad enough. I started really practicing singing and playing and holding my own and it worked! People kept booking me even without having my duo partner, became very successful in the midwest booking myself sometimes 3-4 times a week and finally had the opportunity to get myself down to Nashville along side my now fiancé. It wasn’t easy first moving down here in 2020. An extremely devastating tornado came through town and wrecked the city the night we had just settled in from moving down. Then about 2 weeks later The Corona Virus hit the country. It was a very slow start to my career there but I will tell you I wrote my whole first project during that time. I found my core group of writers and we just made the most of it that year making that EP. it’s truly something i’m so grateful for and will never forget. It made me really focus on networking and honing into the connections i had already had before moving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eringrand.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/itseringrand?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/100046971174852/
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/itseringrand
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCqz8Sm7fa4pY75m3dWBnjzw
Image Credits
Justin Hammond and Kaylee Steffel