Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Hannah Hall
Bre Kennedy spoke to NYOTA about her album Scream Over Everything, finding her sound, and her advice for aspiring musicians.
Was music a large part of your upbringing?
Yes. My dad played rock and blues and artists like Bryan Adams, Fleetwood, CCR were always playing.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
I grew up listening to and inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Lauren Hill, Janis Joplin and began getting inspired by so many artists like Brandi Carlile, Pink, Sara Bareilles, Feist.
Nashville is where you found your sound and identity as an artist. What happened during your time there that led you to discovering yourself as an artist?
Nashville is where I feel like I woke up to myself on my timeline. I got here and was, for the first time, aware that I could share my story and had the power to. So, I started working wherever I could to pay the bills and by night would play my songs at local venues that would have me. I just felt safe and empowered to share who I was, where I came from and what I was going through. I met songwriters and friends that helped me carve what I was feeling and became inspired by the music and song craft here and it led me to who I am today.
Do you have a songwriting process or time in your day dedicated to songwriting or do you try to keep things spontaneous when it comes to working on new music?
I love this question. It changes and grows with me. My process changes with what season I’m in. It usually starts when a feeling, a word, or a phrase arrests me, and then I have to see it to fruition. When I wrote my Jealous Of Birds EP, I would write whatever came up whenever it felt right. With Note To Self, I wrote religiously because I had to. Because the songs were in me, and I had to get them out. And with my new album Scream Over Everything, my writing process happened over a year of crafting intentionally towards a body of work.
Tell our readers about your album Scream Over Everything. What story are you telling through the project?
Scream Over Everything is my new album produced and created with Davis Naish. This is my sophomore album and one of my favorites yet. It captures a time capsule of a part of my life that I was learning how to show up for myself, how to listen to the voice that was screaming inside me saying “REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE, WHY YOU’RE HERE AND WHAT MAKES YOU TRULY HAPPY.” In a world that is so excruciatingly loud everyday, it got so hard to hear what I was trying to say and writing these songs helped me return to that voice again. It’s about letting that intuition scream over everything.
The album covers a range of personal topics such as past relationships, new beginnings, and reconnecting with estranged family members. Was it therapeutic to work on?
Absolutely. In order to continue growing I have to acknowledge where I came from, where I want to go and what no longer makes me happy. Writing this album was unbelievably cathartic to both write and bring to life. I am so thankful for it.
I particularly loved the song “Navigating” which focuses on navigating through fear and showing ourselves grace. When working on that song did you have a certain message you wanted to come across and the other elements of the song were built from there?
I wrote this song for my little brother. As a message to him about how messy and beautiful growth is and how he’s not alone in it. In turn, I ended up needing this song too. It’s about having grace for myself and others on this wild journey we’re all on. It’s messy and heavy and a damn maze sometimes and it’s one of the things we all have in common with each other that I think is easy to forget.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
You know the author personally. Keep writing your story. It’s no one else’s but yours.