The definition of “up-and-coming” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary says: Gaining prominence and likely to advance or succeed. That is exactly how I would describe country rock singer Kayla Woodson. Originally from Waggaman, Louisiana, she now calls Nashville, Tennessee her home and is a rising star in the music industry.
So those of you who are astute may be thinking: DJ Dave Woodson must be promoting his daughter, niece, cousin or some other close relative with this latest blog? Obviously, I share the same last name as Kayla but we are not close relatives. Most likely we are 10th cousins, just about like all other people with the Woodson surname in America.
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kayla via phone for the first time and got to learn of her music career. Among the things I learned: Kayla was a child music prodigy at a young age and started singing publicly at age 4 as a hobby. When Kayla was 7 years old, she performed regularly with Opry shows in Texas and Louisiana.
By age 10, Kayla fronted her own band for the first time and played at various locations throughout the South. Her musical performances continued during her early teen years and at age 15, Kayla wrote her own music and recorded an album called “I’m Moving On.”
After graduation from high school, Kayla moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University in 2012. Kayla received her BS degree from Belmont in 2016, with a major in Entertainment Industry Studies and a minor in Music Business. She continues to make Nashville her home since graduation from college.
In 2014, Kayla was at a Hard Rock Café in the Dominican Republic when she unexpectedly got called up on stage while country music trio Lady Antebellum was performing the song “American Honey.” Kayla then sang the song with the country group through the ending of the former number one country tune. After the song ended, Lady Antebellum lead singer Hillary Scott briefly interviewed Kayla before she left the stage.
While Kayla was getting her college degree during 2015, she performed on the Hard Rock stage at the CMA Music fest and released her first single, “Fan for the Flame ” to country music radio stations in America. The song is about a woman who has been scorned once but is refusing to play the fool multiple times. Kayla’s vocals are sassy on this catchy tune.
At the end of Kayla’s senior year at Belmont, she released her self-titled 5-song EP “Kayla Woodson” during April 2016. Every song was either written or co-written by Kayla and the EP shows a wide range of music styles along with powerful vocals by the Louisiana native.
During the past year Kayla has been busy writing new songs, playing with her own band and performing with other artists like Emma Place and Annie Lawrence around the Nashville area and around the South.
One of the current 24-year old singer’s latest projects is the recording of a new song, “Unfixable” which was written by Kayla along with co-writer Andrew Peebles. It is a powerful song but don’t just take my word about Kayla’s newest song and video for “Unfixable.” Here is what Kayla says about her new tune:
“I wrote ‘Unfixable’ with my co-writer Andrew Peebles, and by the time we were done writing the song I knew that I had to release it as my next single. It’s more of an emotional song that shows way more vulnerability than I have ever shown through my music. It’s about that moment when you love someone so much that you can’t walk away from them even though you know the relationship is not good for you. You’re essentially begging this person to cause you pain and in turn make your connection unfixable, so that it gives you enough reason to walk away from them. I’m so excited for the world to hear this song and I hope you all love it as much as I do!”
Up to this point you may think Kayla is just a country singer. However, she doesn’t limit herself to that genre of music: Kayla also rocks! Her dynamic voice is also well suited to sing rock music. From power ballads and straight up classic rock tunes, Kayla delivers the goods when singing rock songs during her concerts.
When I spoke with Kayla, I was curious what kind of set list that she and her band perform when out on the concert trail. While she sings much of her own material, Kayla also performs selected cover version of popular songs in rock and country plus occasionally singing Motown classic songs.
Two rock song covers that Kayla keeps in her set list are The Outlaw’s “Your Love” and “Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine.” With the country covers, she regularly sings Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine.” When Kayla goes Motown, she performs either Stevie Wonder’s “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours” or Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.”
So what kind of music does Kayla listen to on a regular basis? She described her music favorites as a “Louisiana Gumbo Pot” meaning lots of variety all mixed together into one bowl. I asked Kayla some questions about her favorite music and here are the answers:
- Favorite Rock Groups: Journey and Gun N Roses
- Favorite Motown Artists: Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin
- Favorite Country Artists: Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood
- Favorite Journey Song: “Wheel in the Sky”
- Last Album Played: “Golden Hour” Kasey Musgraves
For the rest of the summer and into the fall, Kayla is taking time to write new songs and will be touring with her band in Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and Alabama. You can always get Kayla’s up to date concert information here.
You can listen or purchase Kayla’s music at either iTunes or Spotify.
You can also access Kayla’s Facebook here and her official website here
“Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turning
I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turning.”
The chorus to Journey’s song “Wheel in the Sky” that I quoted above accurately describes Kayla upcoming musical journey. Her path is yet to be written. As I see things, Kayla Woodson has a bright future as a country/rock singer. I am confident that bigger and better things will be happening in the future during Kayla’s career. Rock on!
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