Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Karis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Growing up, I would get picked to sing solos at school concerts and I remember loving the thrill of the pressure. As a kid it felt like such big deal getting up there and having all eyes on you for a moment. I would practice until the music became second nature to me in an effort to rid myself of any nerves, but I was still pretty nervous no matter what I did. It would always end up going better than I expected – all that prep for just a short few minutes on stage.

But it was specifically the moments after each time I sang that stuck out to me the most. Random strangers (parents of other students I didn’t know), faculty, and friends would approach me and just wordlessly hug me. These hugs felt different than just a “you did great!” sort of hug. It was as if something more potent had translated during the 3 min I was singing – something otherworldly that I didn’t quite understand. Sometimes they’d just stand there and look at me a little teary and just say “thank you”. It was mysterious to me and always just felt so confirming that singing carried some sort of magic.

I never felt that exchange happen through any other medium outside of music and I made it my goal to encounter that unspoken beauty as much as possible in my life. Singing will always be that portal for me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Karis and I’m an alt-pop artist based in Nashville, TN. It was always a dream of mine to be a singer as a kid, but I don’t think I ever really believed it could be an option for me. After getting a degree in Communications in 2015, I realized there was more I wanted to express creatively. My love for documentary film and it’s authentic portrayal of life brought me to one day admitting that it wasn’t so bad for me to desire to be in front of the camera. I wanted to be telling a story… my story, somehow. Eventually I realized music was the only outlet that made sense to my heart.

I’ve been singing ever since I can remember, but only started writing original music for the first time about 7 years ago. It was the only thing that stuck. These days you can find me most days in a writing session spilling my guts on a mic, brainstorming visual ideas for branding and upcoming song releases, or having a mental breakdown questioning if I’m actually delusional and should just give up.

Lately I’ve been loving writing songs that offer a tasteful balance of both grit and sensitivity. I love pairing the tenderness of my tone with a grungy pop/rock sound. I like to think it captures the contradiction that I think we all feel we are to ourselves. This softness mixed with an intensity. When the mic is in front of me, I feel this sense of freedom to become a character of sorts and become the song in a way. I think that approach translates as an invisible power into the music and supercharges it.

Currently I’m finishing up a project detailing the healing I’ve walked through the past year – learning to speak my truth plainly, feel my emotions thoroughly, and come out on the other side with a lens of acceptance and forgiveness for the things that brought me to my breaking point. The first song releases soon in July (2023) and it’s called “Happy”. Releasing this song is a huge step for me and I think it’s a strong presentation of what sound I hope to continue sharing with the world from here on out. I’m pumped!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I see my mission with creating as being first for my own soul. When I first started writing, it was to have an outlet for my joy, pain, and everything in between. I’ve realized that anytime I am operating from a space of contraction, fear, or desire to mold to what others “expect” of me, the art that is born from that space just never connects the same. So first, I would say I create to experience myself and understand what’s going on in my heart/mind a little better. That may sound a little strange, but whenever that’s the the approach I take, people respond to my music as though I’ve reached inside them and read their story back to them.

The human experience is on repeat in all of us all the time. We’re just learning and unlearning things at a different pace. I feel so strongly that true vulnerability is medicine. When I give myself freedom to be ruthlessly honest in a lyric or through my energy on stage, I give others a window into seeing what’s always been available to them. Lately I’ve referred to this as the “i’ll go first” mentality, and that’s because I’ve had so many wonderful people showcase the same freedom to me during periods of life when I really had to clue how far I was from my own authenticity.

Observing the contrast in someone else’s experience with life on display in front of me was the key. I create to experience the magic of the present moment and see what it wants to give me. When I’m present, I’m accepting life. I’m accepting myself. And what is born from that intention is healing to the ears of others, or so has been my experience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’d say moving to Nashville was a huge step of courage for me. Back in March of 2018, I packed up my little 2004 Toyota Corolla with everything I had to my name at the time and drove the 17 hours down south with my dad. I was leaving behind family, my home, everything I had ever known to start a whole new life.

The opposition I faced in making this decision was highly mental for me. For one, I was battling some really intense mysterious health issues that heightened the fear of being on my own, I was struggling with intense depression, plus I didn’t know hardly anyone in Nashville. It was a true reset of all things life. All I had lined up was an apartment for the next 3 weeks and a potential part time job at a women’s home. Funny enough, I got a call on the drive down that they were going a different direction for that position and so I came face to face with the fact that nothing was waiting for me there. It was terrifying and freeing, but mostly terrifying.

I knew I was about to have to take radical responsibility for every branch of my life and accept that things were not going to happen overnight. This was a commitment to rebuilding and crafting a life from the ground up that felt designed for me. The problem was, I didn’t know who I was, and I knew this would be a time of exploring and figuring that out so that I would know what to begin cultivating in my life.

Fast forward just over five years later, here I am. So thankful. I have incredible friends, my health far better than it was, I’m love/know myself in a much deeper way, I am creating music I’m proud of, and this city feels like home. Looking back at those days helps me remember how far I’ve come and teaches me that anything is within reach if you’re willing to surrender to ground zero for a minute and commit to the time it takes to build something that is truly beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @karisontherocks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076298303528&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Tiktok: @karisontherocks

Image Credits
1st photo – Quinn Mclaughlin 4th photo – Devonte Thomas 5th photo – Erik James 6-8 photos – Moe Elias