We were lucky to catch up with Mikki Zip recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mikki thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love being a creative and being able to share my story and feelings through art, I think it is something very special. If being a singer/songwriter, like I am, is something you want to make a career out of, you have to be completely self motivated. I try to do at least one thing a day that will propel me forward in this industry and in my skills. Sometimes when you keep pushing and pushing yourself, it can become draining. For me, this is never in a way of second guessing, but just becoming exhausted from constantly having to be self motivated. This is where having a great support system comes into play! Whether its family or friends, it is always great to have people to give you that little extra boost when you need it. I am very lucky to have a very steady support system that have motivated me more times than I can count. There are times when I wondered what it would be like to have a “regular” job, but if I did work that didn’t involve music, I know I would feel purposeless. I am a person who believes everyone is put on this planet for a reason. I am so lucky to have found my reason in performing and songwriting, so for me I know without it my life would be very dull.

Mikki, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since I was small, I always knew my 2nd home was a stage. I grew up in Central NY, just walking distance from my grandparents, my great-gramma, my uncle, and all my friends. I would invite my grandparents over at 9pm just to do a performance for them in my living room, singing all the songs to my favorite movie, “Grease”. I definitely loved being in front of a crowd big or small! Music was always a big part of my family. My uncle, TJ Sacco, is a singer/songwriter in the Central NY area and I watched him perform with wide eyes since I was little. My mom introduced me to so many different artists throughout my life, but I always loved the country music. From Garth Brooks to Gary Allan to Reba, she would play it all! When I turned 10, I got my first “real” guitar and began songwriting right away. I started writing country music because for me, I wanted to tell stories with my music. I always found that the lyrics in some of my favorite country songs tell a story from start to end!

My parents decided that my dreams needed a place to grow and that Nashville would be the city for that. With their constant support that they still give me today, we moved to Nashville when I was 13, 2 weeks before high school started.
I booked gigs at any place that would pick up the phone or talk to me when I walked in their front door. Whether it was a bar, coffee shop, BBQ joint or county fair, I didn’t care, I just wanted to be playing as much as possible to anyone that would listen. This is the time period where I really learned how to perform my sets and who I was as an artist.

Today, I perform in and around Nashville, acoustic and full band. I released 3 songs last year and am looking forward to putting more out this year! I am always eager to continue playing shows and working hard, excited to see where country music will take me next.

To check out my music or where to catch a show, head to my website MikkiZip.com!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

When I play shows, I always tell the crowd if you really want to support me, go follow all my socials. When you hear a song you like or see an artist playing you would want to check out more from, don’t hesitate to go follow them. In today’s society, social media plays such a big role in a lot of success for creatives. Therefore, following along on that person’s journey means a lot to an independent artist. Go out and see one of their shows or share their music! If you really like them, help them to thrive in their industry by any support, big or small, you can give.

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

In Nashville, there is so many people reaching for that same goal. It can some times get hard to not compare yourself to others even if they are completely different than you. I didn’t have to so much unlearn anything, but instead teach myself to realize, everyone is on their own journey. You are never going to exactly sound or look the same as someone else, and that is a good thing!! The only way you get far in a creative space is by being different and truly embracing the things that make you and your music different. Not everyone is going to like you and thats okay. If you are truly yourself, that means the people who support you truly like you for who you are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mikkizip.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikkizip_official/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikkizip/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mikkizip6368
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikkizip?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
All images (except black and white photo) taken by: Eli Silva (@e.s.refract) https://esrefract1.myportfolio.com/ B&W photo: Lucas Manning (@ltm.ltd)