Country Next: Kasey Tyndall

Kasey Tyndall has all of the talent to become a mainstay in country music. Raised in Greenville, North Carolina, the singer/songwriter dabbled on guitar but initially sought a future in healthcare care, thinking a career in country music would be an unrealistic choice.

After winning a contest put on by local radio station, WQDR, she scored an opportunity to sing on stage with Keith Urban. The experience found her channeling her thought process as she dropped out of the nursing program at Eastern Carolina University and packed her bags for Nashville to pursue her dreams.

In the fall of 2021, Tyndall signed a global publishing deal with River House Artists, in partnership with Sony Music Publishing Nashville. Her first entry on the roster was “Middle Man,” which she co-penned on her back porch with good friend Lainey Wilson. The unplanned writing session, which took place only after Tyndall made a comment about growing up with divorced parents, proved successful, becoming a favorite for listeners at songwriting rounds.

Tyndall’s most current single, and first of 2022, is “Jesus and Joan Jett,” which showcases her rock forward style that sets her apart from other artists in the country genre. Produced by Derek Wells and co-written with Greylan James and Evan Coffman, the tune shines a light on Tyndall’s inspiration for Joan Jett and defines her personality, which is a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.

Tyndall, who is currently on the road as part of Drake White’s The Optimystic Tour, caught up with Country Now to talk about her journey in country music, her new track “Jesus and Joan Jett,” the influence Joan Jett and other strong females in the music space had on her growing up, and more.

Read on to find out more about Kasey Tyndall in this exclusive Q&A below.

Can you tell me about your background and how you started your career in music?

I’ve always loved music. I’ve always enjoyed singing and writing songs ever since I was around 12 years old, and it just seemed kind of – the journey in my head didn’t feel realistic. You know, I was like, everybody wants to be a singer. So, I went to school to be a nurse. I was working three jobs and went to college, and I won a contest to sing with Keith Urban in Raleigh, North Carolina, just about an hour and a half from where I’m from in Greenville. And, the stars aligned, one thing led to another, and I had the opportunity to do this thing. So, I dropped out of nursing school and moved to Nashville, and that’s how it all started.

What drew you to the country genre?

Honestly, I’m just a country person, and I think that outweighs everything. Growing up, I enjoyed both country and rock ‘n’ roll, but, honestly, country music a little bit more than rock. But, I was so heavily influenced by rock music that there’s no way that it couldn’t be in my music.

When did you begin songwriting, and is it something that has always come naturally for you?

It kind of started as an English project when I was in the sixth grade. We had to take a poem and turn it into a song. I was like, ‘Ooh, I want to do this!’ That was the first time I’d written. I just got the bug from there. But, honestly, I don’t think it was until I got to college that it felt like, ‘Oh, I can write a song pretty good.’ Now, I feel like God just hands out ideas to me. I write through life experience or through somebody I’m in the writing room’s life experiences. That’s where those songs come from. But, if I were to sit down and try to throw out ideas or lines, it kind of doesn’t happen. So, it just comes as it goes.

You moved to Nashville in 2015 and found your way into this girl group of friends who are chasing the same dream as you are.

Yes! We have a bunch of us. So me and a girl named Mandelyn Monchick who now manages Lainey, all actually moved here together from North Carolina. She worked for my first management team back in Raleigh while attending NC State University for an internship. So we moved here together, and not long after that, we met Lainey and Kylie. We all just became three peas in a pod. And, honestly, I think God just put us with this group of girls – I don’t know, you find that friend group that is like family. We don’t have family here. So we are each other’s family. So it’s me, Lainey, Mandelyn, Ashland Craft, Faren Rachels, Jenna LeMaster, Meghan Patrick, Caroline Munsick – Ian Munsick’s manager and wife. So it is just all of us, and we are just a big group of girlfriends that take on this crazy business together.

Do you all share each other’s successes or benchmarks?

Honestly, these girls are my family. So whenever they win, I feel like I’m winning and vice versa. It’s such an awesome healthy thing we’ve got going on here. It just does feel like when one wins, we all win.

Can you tell me the inspiration behind your current single, “Jesus and Joan Jett”?

So, I wrote it back in 2017 with Evan Coffman and Greylan James. At the time, I didn’t have a song that was a staple Kasey Tyndall song. I was getting into the foundation of writing music here, and I just really needed that type of song. But, I always ask myself two questions when I am faced with anything in life. Number one, the most important is, ‘What would Jesus do? And, number two is, ‘What would Joan Jett do? ‘When you add that together, that’s how I get my answer to any issue. So that’s where the song came from, and we made it a little more rocking because of Joan Jett, of course!

I noticed a photo of you and Joan Jett on your social media pages. Has she heard this song or given you any musical advice?

Absolutely, yes! So, I got to meet Joan because she heard the song, maybe back in 2019. But, I flew out to a show in Atlanta and got to hang out with her, and it was the coolest thing. She’s such a kind person! She’s been such a huge help with this release. She and her team have posted about it on all of her socials, and they’ve just been a great ally, and I’m super grateful for Joan and her camp.

How much does the visualization of how you’ll perform your songs on stage impact your writing process?

So, the live element to my craft is my favorite part! I am one of those songwriters who write for their live show a lot of the time. There are some times when I’d plug into that singer/songwriter side of me. But, in the case of ‘Jesus and Joan Jett,’ I was for sure writing for my live show. It has been – you know, it not being out until now, it’s become my biggest song. Ever since hearing it the first time, my fans have been singing it for years. Honestly, when I put out ‘Middle Man,’ they were like, ‘That’s great, and all, but where is ‘Jesus and Joan Jett?’ They’ve done that for the last few songs. So that track was released for the fans but written for the live show.

What was it like filming the music video for “Jesus and Joan Jett”?

So, it was so cool. I wanted it to be like a live performance type of video. So, I had this idea with the movie Freaky Friday – the newer one with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. One of the opening scenes is them having band practice in the garage. I don’t know why, but I was like, ‘I would like to rip that off a little.’ So the girls over at River House built a garage inside the warehouse, where we have our band rehearsal. We just decorated this fake garage with stuff I felt was important to me but still looked like a garage. So that is where the video idea came from. So, we just got together, the guys and I, and acted like we were playing a show for real.

‘Middle Man’ shows a softer side of you in comparison to ‘Jesus and Joan Jett.’ Was that intentional, and have you already planned out your next release?

I don’t know if I can say this, but I will say it for you all, but my next single is a song called, ‘Babies.’ And, we’re so excited about it! Honestly, when I think about going from something like ‘Middle Man’ to ‘Jesus and Joan Jett,’ I don’t think about it as far as like, one might be a ballad and the other might be uptempo. I think it’s just about what’s right at the moment. Having the team that I have now, I just felt like it was the right moment for ‘Jesus and Joan Jett.’ That’s how I feel with ‘Babies’ too.

Can fans expect an EP or full-length album from you this year?

We haven’t planned that far ahead, but I do know that we’ll be putting out a few singles. And, as I said, I think I spoiled it already, but it’s totally fine. But, “Babies” is the next single, and it’s just about all we know for now. But I’m sure by the end of the year, we will put out some sort of project past those singles.

What’s next for you?

So the video for ‘Jesus and Joan Jett’ is out now. So if y’all want to go check that out and give me a follow and a stream, that would be so awesome. And, we’re just going one step at a time. I am on tour with Drake White for April and May. Those dates are on my website and all of my social media platforms. So, I would love to see everybody at the shows!

Fans can keep up with Kasey Tyndall on Instagram.