ROBBY STEVENS
A native of Texas and the epitome of a 10-year overnight success, 22-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Erin Kinsey moved to Tennessee the morning after her high school graduation and quickly immersed herself in the world of country music. By 2020 the rising star had co-written a song cut by the queen herself, Dolly Parton. A viral TikTok star, Kinsey’s reach continues to grow—as does her career. She’s currently on tour with Dylan Scott and Home Free and readying a new single this month.
HOMETOWN: Rockwall, TX
YEARS IN NASHVILLE: 4.5
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START?
I got into music by always having music going on in the house, and eventually starting to sing songs I heard on the radio. I then got a guitar for Christmas when I was 11 and started to play small shows and competitions around Texas. I fell in love with it and pretty quickly started writing songs of my own.
WHO WERE YOUR EARLY INFLUENCES?
Miranda Lambert was a huge inspiration for me as a Texas girl who loves dogs, but I also listened to a ton of country and Christian radio growing up and have been able to pull inspiration from all of those songs over the years.
BREAKOUT MOMENT:
The moment everything changed for me is when I had a song I posted about go viral on social media in July 2021. By October I had signed a record deal, a publishing deal, and started gearing up to take my first single to country radio.
MOST EXCITING THING TO HAPPEN IN YOUR CAREER (SO FAR):
I feel so lucky to have had so many exciting things happen in my career already, but it’s probably a tie between making my Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022 and having a song cut by the legendary Dolly Parton with the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
WHAT SONG OF YOURS BEST SUMS UP WHO YOU ARE?
”Just Drive” is definitely a song that has a lot of fun facts about me and has completely changed my life, but I like to think every song, released or not, shows a little different side of myself.
NEW AND NEXT:
I am so pumped to be releasing a bunch of new music next year, starting with “Boys in Boots” [this month]! It’s all music I’ve spent the last year living out and writing, and I am so excited to be more honest than I’ve ever been.