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

Paige King, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Thankfully, my parents were ones that saw the value in putting kids in formal music lessons at an early age. My sister & I both started out in piano lessons around the age of 5, where we were first introduced to music in an educational form. My mom spent a lot of time carting us back & forth to music lessons for many years. They encouraged me to start taking guitar lessons at age 10. They made sure I was at every church musical and school talent show. They supported me as I went through middle school band and then into high school vocal ensemble. They never stopped encouraging me and supporting my music. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without their continued support all the way from that little 5 year old girl going to her first piano lesson to this 25 year old girl who is chasing her dreams between Nashville TN & the rest of the world to take music to others.

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

I got started in music at the age of 5 when I walked into my first piano lesson – that was the first formal introduction I had to music. I was always a kid who enjoyed performing for others & singing, so my parents thought I would flourish in music lessons. My Papa bought me a guitar for Christmas when I was 10 because he saw how much I enjoyed music & sharing it with other people. He was the one who encouraged me to explore guitar lessons. That following Easter, my Papa passed away, and I kind of took that as my sign from the Lord & from my Papa that music was something I was meant to pursue in life. I continued in music through middle & high school in both band and chorus, and once the time for college decisions came around, I started looking into Nashville, TN. I was intrigued by the business of music & knew I wanted to pursue my own career as a singer-songwriter. After high school, I moved to Nashville to go to Belmont University. It was after that move that I started writing my own songs, learning about the ins and outs of the music industry, and making meaningful industry connections. Over the last 7 years of being between Nashville, TN, my hometown in North Carolina, and anywhere else around the world that shows take me, I have written countless songs, recorded many & most recently released my first ever full-length album, Honky Tonk Heart. It’s crazy to see the progression from that little girl going to piano lessons once a week to the woman who writes 3-4 songs per week, playing over 120 shows a year and visiting places all over the world to share her music. I’m grateful for every step along the way & I look forward to so many more!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Like I mentioned earlier, I started playing guitar & singing when I was 10 years old, but I really didn’t start writing songs until I moved to Nashville almost 8 years later. I was grateful for all my music training, but I feel like I was never sat down & taught that writing songs is a career path & a job that helps a lot of creatives keep food on the table & a roof over their head. It wasn’t until I moved to Nashville that I was really opened up to the ideas of songwriting and everything that goes along with it. For the first time in my life, I was in an environment full of like-minded creatives eager to come up with the next best idea. I was quickly introduced to the act of co-writing and that opened up a whole new world for me. Over the years I have grown to appreciate the preparedness that comes in writing alone as you go into a co-write with other creatives. The songwriting process, for me personally, requires a mixture of writing and experimenting on my own with melody ideas or different hook lines or lyrics to then take into co-writes with other talented musicians that have done the same prep work, so that we can come out with the highest quality song possible that day. I realize writing songs comes differently for each individual creative, but I do wish that I was educated more on the co-writing process earlier on in my journey.

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

Our job as singer-songwriters is to take songs to the masses that connects with them on some level. Whether we’re making them want to cry tears of hurt, laugh full of joy, dance like there’s no tomorrow, or anything in between, we have the task of validating the listener’s feelings. Life, for everyone, is full of all kinds of highs and lows, and I love that my job allows me to bring out the emotions of every point in between in the form of a song to hopefully reach just one person who needs to hear it that day. I’m a people person to the core – I love interacting with others and getting to hear their stories and share time with them. As an artist, even if I’m not physically with a listener at the time they hear one of my songs, I’m able to connect with them and share time with them 3.5 minutes at a time. That, to me, is the most rewarding aspect of my job.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.paigekingjohnson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paigekingjohnson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaigeKingJohnson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PaigeKingJohnson/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@paigekingjohnson

Image Credits
1-2: Jessica Bratton 3-4: Stephanie Barnhill 5-6: Josh Sikkema