Sunday, September 11, 2016

Up & Coming New Nashville- Meet Katie Buxton

Katie Buxton is an indie folk singer/songwriter originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and based out of Nashville, Tennessee. At age twelve, Katie picked up the guitar and wrote her first song, and since then has had experience with bands and songwriting in multiple genres.
 
In 2012, she was chosen as a finalist in the Sing for the Trees Songwriting Contest with her song “The World Moves By”. In the summer of 2013, Katie attended the Berklee Five Week Performance Program where she was a finalist in the Songwriting Showcase and received mentorship from Melissa Ferrick and Sally Taylor, daughter of James Taylor. 
 
After moving to Nashville to attend Belmont University as a songwriting major, Katie was invited to join Bear House Writers Management and was one of eight to play in the ASCAP Writers Showcase in the fall of 2015. Adding to her songwriting accomplishments, she was later chosen as a finalist in the 2016 American Songwriting Awards with her song "Painted Hearts". Katie’s debut EP “From Songbirds” was released in March of 2016. Her new single "You Flew" was recorded and mixed by Sal Oliveri and mastered by Luke Gilfeather.
 
As for the meaning of the song, Katie explains "The song is about caring deeply for someone who is not ready to love or be loved and runs out of fear, and focuses especially on the process of learning to let go". "You Flew" is now available on Soundcloud, Itunes and all streaming services. 
 
That Nashville Sound had an opportunity to do a brief interview with the singer-songwriter and chat about influences and what she sees as the difference between country and folk music genres.
 
Describe your music (from the artist's perspective) for someone who hasn't heard it before.

I’m an acoustic singer/songwriter with a delicate, mellow sound similar to Angus & Julia Stone or Liz Longley. The lyrics I write are always intentional and are my way of spreading my honest truth.

How does Pennsylvania play a role in your music?

I’m not sure if you can really hear any Pennsylvania influence in my music now, but growing up where I did I was lucky enough to be surrounded by all kinds of music. Philadelphia has a good music scene and bigger touring artists come through the city all the time, so I was always going to concerts and finding myself really immersed in the music that was there. I also had really great opportunities to be a part of after school music programs, like School of Rock for example, that encouraged and expanded my abilities through lessons and bands I was in. 

How would you say Belmont has played a role? 

Belmont has played a huge role. I’m a songwriting major and the classes I’ve taken have challenged me to write in ways I normally wouldn’t which has made me such a better writer. The songwriting faculty are incredible - they give criticism, encouragement and resources to help us succeed and they truly believe in every student’s abilities and dreams, which is huge and has given me a lot of confidence in my music as it’s gotten better and better. Aside from the songwriting program itself, being surrounded by so many students who are also musicians, artists and writers of all kinds and who share similar goals has opened me up to so much. It’s an incredible environment because instead of feeling competitive, it feels supportive and like everyone genuinely is rooting for each other. Feeling supported has allowed me to grow into who I am as an artist without spending so much energy worrying about competing. So many of the students are incredibly talented too, which has made me push myself to always be better and has set the bar so high for whatever I create - I feel like I can always improve because I’m constantly inspired by the talent around me.   

What do you see as the differences between folk and country music?

For me, I see country as being closer to pop than folk is. Contemporary country music, with a few exceptions, is all very similar and a lot of it is written with a very defined structure and formula. Being in Nashville and surrounded by songwriters, publishers and industry professionals, so much of it is about writing hits and songs that will sell, much like the pop world. I see folk as being more diverse musically and less driven by how commercial a song is. Compared to modern country, I think folk music is more story-oriented, but I see a lot more similarities between folk and old country, like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash for example.


 

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