Photos by Emma Delevante
Kelsey Waldon
Coming into 2020, Kelsey Waldon held her head high, ready to show the world what Southern Appalachia and the greater Southeast already knows—Waldon is a singer-songwriter and vocal talent to be reckoned with.
Last year, her album “White Noise/White Lines” (her debut for the late John Prine’s label, Oh Boy Records) blew onto the country and Americana scenes, finding itself listed as one of the finest records of 2019. A seamless blend of country and soul, her onstage presence and captivating nature immediately draw real, tangible comparisons to likes of Loretta, Dolly and Tammy.
Raised in the tiny unincorporated community of Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky, Waldon radiates her down-to-earth roots in every performance. She’s filled with a true, honest appreciation for rural America. Her lyrics focus on the simple things in life, which tend to be the most important—friends, family, nature, creativity, and exploring everything with a childlike wonder.
Now based out of Nashville, 2020 turned out to have different plans for Waldon. Between a tornado ripping through Music City, the Coronavirus Pandemic shutting down the entire music industry, and the virus taking the life of Prine (her dear friend and mentor), Waldon remains.
Speaking from her Tennessee home, Waldon was taking the shutdown in stride, ultimately circling back to those important people, places and sentiments that reside in her lyrics. Her head is still held high, if not more so in the face of uncertain times.
How are you holding up, personally and professionally?
To say that it’s been a whirlwind would be an understatement. I think at first there was this kind of initial shock. Everything just happened so fast, honestly. And I think it has felt that way for a lot of us, actually.
Everything has really made me realize a lot, just examine a lot of things within myself, the things that we hold high to validate ourselves. And it kind of made me realize that the music was always there in the first place—I’m going to be all right, we’re all going to be all right.
Once I climbed out of that mountain of initial shock and depression, I was able to see things a lot differently, you know? There was obviously a lot of grief after John passed, as well. It took a minute to process it all. But, right now, I’m in a good place and every day has a different flavor. I think it was really important that a lot of us got put on pause so we could remember what’s important.
Well, that’s one of the things in our industry, where you get so wrapped up in it, even though we love what we do. We end up becoming workaholics without realizing it.
Hell, yeah. And it’s a beautiful thing in a sense. I mean, that’s what I worked so hard for—to be on the road and make music with my friends. It’s like, I got what I wished for, but clearly the universe had other plans for this year. I think when something like this happens, you literally have to accept that you are not in control. And that’s been a really good lesson. I’m going to come out of the other side a lot more experienced and a lot more appreciative.
Does that mean that you’re optimistic for the future?
Yes, I think it does. Which is amazing, because there was minute there I really wasn’t. It’s just been an emotional rollercoaster for a lot of us. You go through all the phases of shock, then fear, then depression. Then, you accept it and just move forward after that. I’ve actually really been inspired by everything that’s happening. It’s inspiring to be seeing actual change happen, to see that so many people do want better things for everybody.
And with that social change and the protests across the country, it really circles back to what we love about country music— it’s always been a voice for the people.
Absolutely. The downtrodden—people forget that. Country music was not [the] rich man’s music. Our music has always been for the oppressed, at least from the roots of it. Country and rural people everywhere should understand how it feels to be told “you’re just one thing, you’re not this,” how it feels to be oppressed by the government. We should at least realize what people are feeling this way and why people are hurting.”
I think it also shows us we all have a lot more in common than what we’re told.
Well, absolutely. Rural people come in all sizes, colors and backgrounds. They love their home, too. And they don’t leave it just because of who they are. You know, one of my favorite [“Black Lives Matter”] protest signs I’ve seen from Kentucky has been, “There’s No Hate In Our Holler.”
I really get the sense from talking to you right now that you’re at peace, this kind of humble peace.
Thank you for noticing that. It took me a minute to get there, but I feel good right now. I just needed to get my centering foundation back again. Some things that are out of your control kind of force you to start over. I’m not in control right now—I just need to listen.