Singer Songwriter Kimra was raised in the Joplin, MO area and started writing music at 14 when she taught herself to play guitar.

Kimra connected with Winter Records in Nashville, TN who was very interested in her writing style and voice which, they believed, stood out. In December 2014 she recorded/released her first 3 song EP, then went on to record/release her first album “Forgive & Forget” in May 2016. She then recorded and recently released her second album “Songs for You“.

Kimra has accomplished quite a bit with her music. She has booked numerous shows/festivals in the 4 state area as well as in Nashville, TN. Kimra has opened for Bo Phillips Band at JB’s in Joplin, MO and at The Zerkapalooza Music Festival she played alongside Bo Phillips Band and Lanco. Kimra has also opened for Bart Crow Band and sang live duets with Bart.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Kimra about the new album, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am a singer songwriter from Joplin, MO but currently live in Springfield, MO.  I also have family in Oklahoma and grew up in the Miami/Wyandotte, OK area.  My grandparents lived in Wyandotte out in the country and I would listen to records, tapes and musicals with my grandma.  I grew up writing poetry in school until I taught myself to play a few chords on the guitar at age 14.  I started writing songs and that’s around the time I was listening to Avril Lavigne a lot.  I love ALL types of music but I would say my favorite is country.  My songwriting style has evolved over the years and I would say when I started, my sound was more traditional country, but currently it’s more rock country. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

My mom used to say when she was pregnant she would hold her belly up to a speaker and I think that’s why I love music so much.  I grew up watching musicals like Singing in the Rain, Holiday Inn and owed every Shirley Temple movie on VHS.  I joined Choir in 7^th grade and stayed until my freshman year in college.  Once I started playing guitar, I enjoyed writing songs a lot.  I was definitely always too shy to share them with anyone, but one thing led to another in my life and here I am 3 EP’s later and recording my 4^th in July!

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

There are no words to describe how excited I am for this new music.  Like I mentioned earlier, my writing style and sound has definitely evolved over time and I’m very proud of how far I’ve come.   I love writing songs about other people’s lives/stories as well as tying in my own personal experiences.  My first self-titled EP were basic but fun songs.  In My Little Town was about me growing up, Floatin’ is about all the fun times I’ve had on the river with my friends and Lost Time was written about a family friend from Iowa.  Second EP Forgive & Forget had 5 songs and they were all personal songs and the sound was more traditional country.  My latest 5 song EP Songs For You was written for my fans.  It’s probably the most powerful of my 3 EP’s and the one I’m most proud of. 

I will record my 4^th EP in July again with Yellow Hammer Studios and Winter Records both out of Nashville, TN.  They are a great group of guys and they make making music easy and fun.  We will be playing these new songs at all of our shows this year.  The songs should be available for download/purchase this Fall! The songs are basically a stem off of the Songs for You album and I believe will be my best ones yet.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Technology has helped tremendously! Promoting shows, building a fan base and keeping people engaged with pictures and posts about what’s going on with our band has helped us meet other bands to collab with as well as acquire new fans.

Challenges I think we face, is just making sure we stand out against others bands in the industry with my music and getting it heard to expand streams/downloads.  I believe my songs are strong and our sound is unique and I think when people hear the word “country” they just assume we sound like every other artist out there right now, but I’m hoping to create a ‘new loop’ for myself in country music.

What was the last song you listened to?

The last song I listened to was from Kacey Musgraves new album.  I’ve probably listened to that album 1,000 times.  I love her rawness and unique sound and that she’s not afraid to sound different than the norm on country radio right now.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I love cd’s.  I obviously have music downloaded on my phone from iTunes, but I think cd’s are still a cool way to connect with fans.  I miss going to Best Buy and browsing isles and isles of cd’s or flipping through my cd collection.  I think it’s great that vinyl is making a comeback, so maybe cd’s will too one day.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I actually prefer Pandora.  I LOVE that you can shuffle as many stations as you want, so you’ll hardly ever hear the same song over and over again.  I like that I can be listening to George Strait one minute, then Matchbox 20 or ELO next.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Here are all of my links:

• https://www.facebook.com/kimrasmusic
• https://www.instagram.com/kimrakmusic/
• https://twitter.com/kimrasmusic

You can also go to my website at www.kimra-music.com and check out my EPK, 2 music videos or SoundCloud/Spotify/iTunes for my music links!

Anything else before we sign off?

I appreciate you guys and what you’re doing for artist like myself to get our voices heard.