Kalee Smyth

Kalee Smyth makes her mark in Music City with Debut EP

Kalee Smyth’s journey to her solo debut EP has been an unconventional one filled with love and loss, self-doubt and personal triumphs, familiar comforts and foreign adventures. As she gears up to release her 4-track EP, The Ceiling, one thing’s for sure—she’s never been more true to herself as an artist.
“I’ve learned how to enjoy the process in a way I never thought I could,” says Smyth. “Songwriting used to intimidate me, but I’ve learned to embrace the struggle. If it was easy, it could never feel so rewarding.”

Growing up in pastoral Monroe, Washington, music was a fixture in Smyth’s home thanks largely to her father—a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader who fronted gospel, bluegrass, and country bands throughout her childhood.
“My dad would play guitar and sing every night. I grew up on traditional hymns and spirituals, and his original songs,” says Smyth. Yet, she struggled to find her place in music at an early age.
“Performing was not something I was drawn to,” she says. “In 7th grade I took a drama class that helped me conquer my fears of being on stage and that was a turning point for me. I did my first musical. I joined the choir. I really fell in love with performing.”

“When I was in high school, my older brother started bringing home country music CDs,” Smyth recalls. “Once I heard Pam Tillis, Faith Hill, The Judds...that’s when I really found the niche of music that spoke to me. I would sit in my bedroom with my boom box and my cassette tapes and sing along to all these artists.”
Eventually, Smyth started spending time in her father’s garage recording studio, recording her vocal takes and poring over the liner notes of her favorite country records. “All the records I loved were being made in Nashville so that’s where I wanted to be,” she says, “and I made a deal with myself to move there after college.”

Upon graduating high school, Smyth moved to New York and after studying at both Manhattanville College and Fordham University, she found her heart was pulling her to the place she’d long dreamed of calling home. She transferred to Belmont University to study history, music business and ultimately, life as a struggling artist in Nashville.
“What I learned when I got to Belmont was that there was a lot more to being a singer in Nashville than just singing. I realized I needed a band, a demo, industry contacts, and most importantly, I needed original songs. It was overwhelming.”
For the first time, Smyth started delving into songwriting and mapping her experiences to music, but shortly after graduating, life was about to take a turn.

Between a demanding full-time job and a budding serious relationship, Smyth felt disconnected from the music scene in Nashville and craved change. A move to Chicago provided to be inspiring, and full of opportunity.
“I enrolled in the Bloom School of Jazz and started studying jazz vocals in Chicago.” she says. “I fell deeply in love with jazz vocalists and it really broadened my horizons as a singer. The Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley album changed my approach to singing.”
During her time in Chicago, Smyth performed at legendary jazz clubs such as The Green Mill, and was making moves in music, but once again, opportunity knocked. “I was in a stage of life where I was saying yes to new opportunities, and experiences became my priority,” she says.

Over the next few years, Smyth lived in Berkeley and San Francisco where she garnered influence from the indie rock scene, and enjoyed a brief stint in Argentina finding inspiration in the flamenco and tango culture of Buenos Aires, before returning home to Washington, where her life took another significant turn.
“I met my husband, Charlie, in Seattle. He was very rooted in the music scene, so that was a big turning point for me— just finding a partner who loved music like I did.” Before long, the couple were playing shows together, and their duo, The Western Shore, officially came to be.
After performing around Seattle at famed venues including the Comet Tavern, the Can Can, and the Rendezvous, the two made the move to Nashville.

In 2014, they recorded their first album, Thunderstorm. “I was in a band. I had a musical and life partner. I had a purpose in music,” recalls Smyth. “It was such an exciting time.” After playing around Nashville and landing opening act slots for notable country artists like Nikki Lane, Smyth—no stranger to change—felt The Western Shore was nearing its end. “After that album cycle we just thought: what now? I was anxious to pursue my solo career and I was after my own sound which was different from The Western Shore. We just decided to let the band go.”

In 2016, Smyth began working on her first solo project. The EP, which was produced by Misa Arriaga (Kacey Musgraves, Joshua Hedley) and Ryan A. Keith (Usher, The Band Perry) is a nod to both the traditional and contemporary country that shaped Smyth’s love of music, but with unexpected arrangements inspired by her love of artists that are hard to confine to a genre like Jill Barber and Kathleen Edwards.

For Smyth, it feels like a bit of a homecoming. “I’m finally rooted in Nashville, and I’m doing it. Hearing my songs come to life in the way I’ve dreamed is what I’ve been striving for for so long, and this is just the beginning". She will be heading back into the studio in February, with the Blackfoot Gypsies' frontman, Matthew Paige, slated as producer, as she sets her sights on a full length album.

Kalee Smyth’s debut EP, The Ceiling, is set to be released in March 2020.

- Lindsay Ellyn