Bronwyn Keith-Hynes: Grammy, Singer, Fidler
Singer, Fiddler, Grammy
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, recently Grammy-nominated bluegrass artist, shares her incredible journey from playing fiddle as a child to stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist.
Note that she's already won her first Grammy for her work with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway.
Discover how the pandemic became a catalyst for her to find her voice and create a Grammy-nominated album.
Bronwyn's story is an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt hesitant to pursue their dreams.
She shares how she overcame her fears and found the courage to step out on her own.
Her journey is a reminder that it's never too late to start something new and that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
You'll Also Discover:
How to Find Your Voice.
The Power of Collaboration.
A Strategy for Overcoming Fear
Why Nashville is a Such Special Place for Music.
Bronwyn's Surprising Wedding Experience.
What's one thing that has inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your dreams?
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Check out Bronwyn's music and find her on Tour: https://www.bronwynkeithhynes.com/
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Transcript
Pride is fine and needed and done But I'm when it comes to being his heart and mine the reason I'm here I can't say enough But I can live without when you can't live without love Hope is coming to me now there's no where I'm going Back to that old barn town.
Speaker B:We played the Gorge with Molly Tuttle opening for Dave Matthews, and that was awesome.
Speaker B:And then Dave had me and Molly up to sit in with him on their set.
Speaker B:I was like terrified.
Speaker B:Like, I grew up listening to this guy.
Speaker B:It's like, oh my gosh.
Speaker B:But I went out on stage and made us feel so welcomed, so at home and was so musically generous that he was like giving me these big long solos.
Speaker B:And it was the biggest crowd I'd ever played for.
Speaker B:I felt connected to the crowd.
Speaker B:They were reacting to everything I played and it made me like lose my sense of being scared.
Speaker B:And all of a sudden it just felt really fun and like powerful convers.
Speaker B:Play something and they'd react and I could just feel that they were with me.
Speaker B:And I'd never felt it on that big of a scale before.
Speaker B:It was just such a cool experience.
Speaker C:I got a chill in hearing that.
Speaker D:Americana music transforms the world and unfortunately, too many are unaware of its profound impact.
Speaker D:Americana musicians are the unsung heroes and here you'll join us in exploring these passionate artists and how they offer inspiration and hope for the future.
Speaker D:This show makes it happen in a fun and entertaining way.
Speaker D:You'll discover new music that you'll love, hard earned lessons from the road, the story behind favorite songs, a big dose of inspiration for you and your friends, and a good laugh along the way.
Speaker D:I'm Ben Fanning and my co host is Zach Schultz.
Speaker D:It's time to get Americana curious.
Speaker C:Hey there everybody.
Speaker C:Welcome back to Americana Curious.
Speaker C:Today you're going to hear from a very special guest.
Speaker C:A true force of nature in the bluegrass and Americana worlds.
Speaker C:She's a fiddle virtuoso, an award winning songwriter and a Grammy winner.
Speaker C:And my, you might have heard her incredible work with Molly Tuttle.
Speaker C:And today we are celebrating her as a solo artist fresh off her own Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album.
Speaker C:And here we go.
Speaker C:Welcome to Americana Curious.
Speaker C:Bronwyn, Keith Hines.
Speaker B:Hey guys, how's it going?
Speaker E:In the intro, Ben mentioned you're you've been with Molly Tuttle on golden highway.
Speaker E:But we want to talk about this solo album and what I find interesting.
Speaker E:I found this quote on online that said when touring had shut down during the pandemic You.
Speaker E:You.
Speaker E:You put a mask on me, and suddenly I found my voice.
Speaker E:And I think that then you start writing songs, and you have this incredible album that just was nominated for a Grammy in best bluegrass category.
Speaker E:Tell me how stepping out into your solo career and really taking that by the.
Speaker E:By the horns, I guess they would.
Speaker B:Say, yeah, it's true.
Speaker B:And the pandemic happened, and my whole livelihood kind of got shut down.
Speaker B:I wasn't able to go on tour, of course, and I was just at home.
Speaker B:I was teaching a lot of zoom lessons, but I had all this free time I hadn't had since before I was in college.
Speaker B:I felt like.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:I almost felt I was like a kid again.
Speaker B:I was like, what do I do with my time?
Speaker B:What do I want to learn?
Speaker B:How.
Speaker B:What have I always wanted to do?
Speaker B:And singing was kind of a big thing.
Speaker B:I'd always sort of been, well, I'll get to it someday.
Speaker B:I gotta get better at fiddle.
Speaker B:First I was like, whenever I'm good enough at fiddle, I'll do that.
Speaker B:And eventually I was like, well, this is kind of.
Speaker B:Maybe this is the time I need to work on this thing that I've always wanted to do.
Speaker B:It's never gonna happen if I don't start.
Speaker B:And so that's really when I started taking voice lessons.
Speaker B:I would take these zoom voice lessons and sort of gave me the confidence to try to do some local gigs and sing more jam sessions and stuff.
Speaker B:And then eventually, kind of after about a year of, I guess, being on the road with golden highway, that was really inspiring, too.
Speaker B:And that inspired.
Speaker B:Being on the road every night with Molly and hearing just, like, a powerful female singer in bluegrass inspired me enough to make this record.
Speaker E:Yeah, you guys, when you're performing with golden highway or.
Speaker E:Yeah, golden highway, me and Ben were lucky enough to catch you at Newport.
Speaker E:I started talking about this before the show, and I got yelled at by Ben.
Speaker E:Again, that's a weekly thing, but what's the.
Speaker E:I mean, that.
Speaker E:That performance was amazing.
Speaker E:I know for me personally, with my.
Speaker E:My wife, she had never seen you guys perform, and she was absolutely blown away.
Speaker E:And basically, for about four months after Newport, that's all she's been listening to, is Molly Tuttle, Golden Highway Bronwyn.
Speaker E:So your solo album, I mean, she is just.
Speaker E:Tell me about Newport and how that comes to be, like, just how special it is.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:I mean, I was so excited to play.
Speaker B:That's just like a bucket list festival, and there's just so much history there.
Speaker B:And, like, when we finally got up on stage.
Speaker B:It's like the best view from stage.
Speaker B:I'm sorry.
Speaker B:I think it's a better view for the audience even, or for the.
Speaker B:For the performers and the audience.
Speaker B:Because we're up on stage, we get to look out over the water.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:On the fort stage.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And all these people are even out on their boats checking out this show.
Speaker B:It's so cool.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So that was just incredible.
Speaker B:And we got to kind of hang out the rest of the day and just.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:We saw Beck in the parking lot.
Speaker B:Got to meet Beck in the parking lot.
Speaker B:I walked by him and didn't recognize him outside.
Speaker B:I was just like, that's a good duo.
Speaker C:Back in Bronwyn.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker C:At Newport.
Speaker E:Well, it was interesting in just a quick note.
Speaker E:I was.
Speaker E:Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls was just standing next to me during your performance, which as a fan, I mean, it was quite amazing.
Speaker E:I try not to bother her, but it was just a quick note.
Speaker E:Side note on there.
Speaker B:I know you never know who's gonna be like lurk at these festivals.
Speaker A:I held a tight and true Now I'm lying up here in my place it's getting laid out Wide awake I'm up for losing sleep with you I'm up for losing sleep with you Anytime that you want to Anytime at all I'm just making sure you knew I'm sitting up Come on through I won't be both.
Speaker C:Ron, when your.
Speaker C:Your Grammy nominated album I Built a World feels like a real statement.
Speaker C:Was there a specific moment or experience that really sparked the vision for this solo album?
Speaker C:And how did it feel to step into the spotlight?
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:Well, I feel like I don't know if there was a specific moment.
Speaker B:It more felt like a very slow buildup where I'd been kind of collecting some songs.
Speaker B:I'd sort of like wanted to make an album for a couple years before that, but just not really.
Speaker B:Not had the confidence or just the spark to do it.
Speaker B:And so it's just sort of like a slow lead up of, could I do this?
Speaker B:Maybe probably not.
Speaker B:And then maybe I could.
Speaker B:And then eventually it just sort of reached a tipping point where I was like, I'm gonna do this.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But I mean, it was.
Speaker B:And going into this was definitely nerve wracking.
Speaker B:On the first day, I'd never, hardly ever even recorded my voice ever.
Speaker B:I'd never put out anything singing before.
Speaker B:And I hired the best backing band.
Speaker B:I got Jerry Douglas and Brian, Sam Gordon.
Speaker B:And I'm like, o no.
Speaker B:And I'M the singer.
Speaker E:I'd be nervous.
Speaker B:But it definitely went better than I even expected.
Speaker E:Did Molly.
Speaker E:Or Your husband's a musician.
Speaker E:He's in the Del McCurry band.
Speaker E:Correct.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:Or Sam.
Speaker E:I mean, do these people lift you up and say, do this is your time, or were they supportive and stuff?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, they were.
Speaker B:I mean, yeah.
Speaker B:Molly and Sam both sang on one of the songs.
Speaker B:Molly sang on two songs, and.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And my husband, Jason, he was a big part of the album behind the scenes.
Speaker B:We spent a lot of time at home workshopping the songs and sort of like.
Speaker B:Like coming up with arrangements ahead of time and just.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, man.
Speaker C:I mean, it's.
Speaker C:Where.
Speaker C:Where did you source your courage?
Speaker C:I mean, and maybe for people like Zach and I, who.
Speaker C:Who don't perform musicals, what's it like being.
Speaker C:So you've played major stages with.
Speaker C:With your.
Speaker C:With your fiddle.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:But what's the big feeling difference from, okay, I'm on.
Speaker C:I'm in front of thousands of people playing fiddle versus I'm in front of thousands of people playing fiddle and singing my own songs?
Speaker B:Sometimes you feel like you have to do something, and you're like, I don't know if this is gonna be good or not, but it's something I have to do, so I'm just gonna do it.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:And you're going out on a tour solo.
Speaker E:I think you're playing my birthday at the Turf Club in St.
Speaker E:Paul, which I will be at.
Speaker E:I think it's on my birthday.
Speaker E:But you're gonna love that.
Speaker E:That place.
Speaker E:It's kind of my home bass club that I'm always at, so I'm excited for that one.
Speaker B:I'm super excited.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That'll be my longest tour.
Speaker B:I did a couple weekends last year with my own band, but I've never been on, like, tour tour with my band, so I never played in all of those cities before.
Speaker B:So it's kind of crazy to start looking at the ticket counts and being like, oh, wow, People.
Speaker B:People are gonna come.
Speaker E:People are excited.
Speaker E:I mean, the.
Speaker E:There's a song on this album with Dirks Bentley.
Speaker E:I mean, how that's gotta be just intimidating when you see this come in a jam of a song, and that.
Speaker E:That one's.
Speaker E:It's a trip around the.
Speaker E:The sun.
Speaker E:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Derek says.
Speaker B:I mean, I've loved his music since I was a teenager.
Speaker B:That was some of the first sort of like, country, bluegrass, crossover stuff I ever heard.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker E:And I love that the.
Speaker E:The lyric, only time will tell if it's what time if it was time well spent that is just beautiful.
Speaker E:Beautiful.
Speaker B:That's a Big Al Anderson song.
Speaker B:He co wrote it with Sharon Vaughn and Stephen.
Speaker B:Stephen Turner.
Speaker E:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think somebody else covered it in the 90s.
Speaker B:But anyways, yeah, that was actually.
Speaker B:That was one that my husband kind of turned me on to and was like, this is a cool song.
Speaker B:You should do something with this.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then I.
Speaker B:I wanted to do it fast.
Speaker B:And then I kind of came up with this way of getting fast in the solo and sort of expanding it that way.
Speaker B:Where.
Speaker A:Only time will tell Through a time well spent Just another revelation Celebrating what I should have done these souvenirs from my trip around sundown and I'm just hanging on my While this whole world keeps spinning and it's good to know it's out of my control yeah.
Speaker B:One of the coolest things of making this album was after I had my parts done, was to be like, okay, what guest artist?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I want to have some guest artists to kind of, like, just be fun.
Speaker B:I was like, who.
Speaker B:Who would sing on this?
Speaker B:And I was like, dirks is such a.
Speaker B:He's definitely got a lot better things to do than this, but I'll just text him.
Speaker B:It's worth a try.
Speaker B:And then he instantly texted and was like, yeah, sure.
Speaker B:And just came to my backyard studio and did it.
Speaker B:It was amazing.
Speaker C:That's got to feel good to get a text right back from Dirk Spentley.
Speaker B:It was very encouraging.
Speaker C:What might surprise, I think, a lot of listeners, at least.
Speaker C:At least in my research, is that bluegrass is seen as often a very traditional genre, but you also have your music roots grounded in Irish music.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Is that correct?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:How do you think about Irish music?
Speaker C:Bluegrass music being traditional in a lot of ways, but also pushing, Pushing the boundaries with your music and your new album.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, it's cool because.
Speaker B:Well, I.
Speaker B:I have a lot of Irish family, and that's sort of how I got into Irish music.
Speaker B:My whole dad's side, his parents immigrated from Ireland, and so we'd always go over there for family things.
Speaker B:And I just kind of.
Speaker B:As I was starting to play fiddle as a kid, I was getting exposed to this Irish music.
Speaker B:And it's like, bluegrass, half of bluegrass is from this Celtic fiddle tradition, and then.
Speaker B:And then the other half of it's blues, so it's almost.
Speaker B:It's all in there.
Speaker B:So it kind of feels.
Speaker B:It felt like a natural progression when I came from Irish music and then kind of discovered bluegrass.
Speaker B:I'm like, well, this is kind of the American way, mixing all these cultures together and.
Speaker E:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker E:How do you.
Speaker E:I mean, you have.
Speaker E:You play your fiddle so precise.
Speaker E:And how did you develop that?
Speaker E:I mean, what's the quote that you saw two girls busking at the age of three.
Speaker E:You said, I will do that.
Speaker E:So you've been doing this.
Speaker E:But how did you create.
Speaker E:Develop such a unique sound with a traditional instrument?
Speaker B:Man?
Speaker B:I mean, I just.
Speaker B:I guess I just follow what I.
Speaker B:There's a bunch of fiddlers that, That I love.
Speaker B:They're.
Speaker B:They're playing and.
Speaker B:And have drawn my ear over the years, starting with different Irish fiddlers like Liz Carroll and Martin Hayes, and then onto bluegrass fiddlers like Casey Dreeson, Stuart Duncan, my husband Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland, and then the older generation.
Speaker B:It's just like bringing all the things that you together and then, I don't know, I'm just also trying to spend a lot of time being self aware and listening to yourself.
Speaker B:Practice sessions and being, okay, what's working, what's not working, and then trying to fix the things that aren't working.
Speaker E:You guys are.
Speaker E:You and your husband are true musicians.
Speaker E:I mean, and I just want.
Speaker E:Can you tell our listeners your very unique wedding experience?
Speaker E:Because everybody has a special.
Speaker E:But mine wasn't as great special as yours.
Speaker E:Sorry, honey.
Speaker E:No, but it's super cool story.
Speaker E:Tell our listeners what.
Speaker E:Where you got married.
Speaker B:Well, we were trying to find kind of a unique wedding venue.
Speaker B:Neither of us is that religious, so we were trying to look for something kind of non traditional outside of a church.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And Jason was like, well, what's a really special place to both of us?
Speaker B:What about the Grand Ole Opry?
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, that's.
Speaker B:That's a long shot.
Speaker B:I mean, that would be cool, but how are you gonna do that?
Speaker B:And he.
Speaker B:I mean, he's played there for long.
Speaker B:Del is a Grand Ole Opry member.
Speaker B:Jason's been playing there since the 90s, and I've played there a fair amount in the last couple years.
Speaker B:And Jason asked the stage manager one day and was like, hey, would this be possible?
Speaker B:And they were.
Speaker B:They just kind of loved the idea, and it just kind of.
Speaker B:It just kind of took off.
Speaker B:The other funny part of that is that we sort of had had a bit of an untraditional time of day.
Speaker B:We got married in the morning.
Speaker B:We kind of had to work around their tours.
Speaker B:They have all these Opry tours that happen all day and they have the shows at night.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So you can't get married at night unless you wanted to be in the show or something.
Speaker B:But so we wanted.
Speaker B:I was like, well, if we're gonna get married, we have to do it on the stage.
Speaker B:That has to be our thing.
Speaker B:And they were like, well, if you can be done before 9:00am, it's all yours.
Speaker B:So we had an 8:30am ceremony on the.
Speaker B:On the main stage.
Speaker B:And they raised up the sides of the stage so you can raise up more of the stage.
Speaker B:And they had all the chairs, all the audience, or all the guests.
Speaker B:I shouldn't call them audience.
Speaker B:All the guests were up on stage with us kind of surrounding the circle.
Speaker B:There was like 200 people all up there, which I just.
Speaker B:It felt really co.
Speaker B:And then we kind of had a fun backstage reception in Studio A, which is where they filmed Hee Haw.
Speaker B:So we had like, brunch reception.
Speaker E:And you had your.
Speaker E:You and your husband performed a song, which is just a lovely video.
Speaker E:And I think I saw it on YouTube, but I know you can find it.
Speaker E:So I'd tell people, go watch this emotional kind of first dance.
Speaker E:But it's them doing it, basically.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we ended up playing on the show that night.
Speaker B:Cause we couldn't leave.
Speaker B:We were going to Hawaii for our honeymoon, but there weren't any flights lights until the next mornings.
Speaker B:And they offered that.
Speaker B:And we were like, oh, this is perfect.
Speaker E:So cool.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Dress rehearsal.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:You mentioned touring and that you've played these so many times and been around.
Speaker C:Is there.
Speaker C:Is there a special moment that you remember when you really had an emotional connection with the audience that really sticks out in your mind?
Speaker B:You know, one.
Speaker B:One moment that kind of really stuck out in the last couple years was when we played.
Speaker B:We played the Gorge with Molly Tuttle opening for Dave Matthews.
Speaker B:And that was awesome.
Speaker B:And then Dave had me and Molly up to sit in with him on their set.
Speaker B:And I was terrified.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm from Charlottesville, Virginia.
Speaker B:I grew up listening to this guy.
Speaker B:It's like, oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:And now I'm going to go out on stage.
Speaker B:But I went out on stage and he just made us feel so welcome, so at home, and was so musically generous that he was giving me these big, long solos.
Speaker B:And it was the biggest crowd I'd ever played for.
Speaker B:And I started to feel this.
Speaker B:I felt connected to the crowd in a way I hadn't.
Speaker B:It felt like they were reacting to everything I played.
Speaker B:And it made me kind of lose my sense of being scared.
Speaker B:And all of a sudden it just Felt kind of really fun and powerful conversation.
Speaker B:I'd play something and they'd react, and I could just feel that they were with me.
Speaker B:And I'd never felt it on that big of a scale before, and it was just such a cool experience.
Speaker C:Oh, I gotta chill on hearing that.
Speaker C:There are a lot of cool fiddle parts in some of the.
Speaker C:In Dave's old tunes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Is there one, like, fiddle part where you're like, yeah, either you.
Speaker C:You played it that day, or, oh, I would like to play on that one.
Speaker B:Well, Ants Marching was.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:That was the one.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was the one.
Speaker E:No pressure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Dave, can we get started with a lesser known tune?
Speaker C:Not that one.
Speaker B:Sink or swim kind of moment?
Speaker B:I was like, this could go one of two ways.
Speaker E:Right.
Speaker C:So the listeners.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Go back and listen to Ants Marching too, and imagine Brown coming.
Speaker C:And when you.
Speaker C:And when you come in with that, do you tap into your Irish fiddle roots, or is it like, hey, I've kind of got my own sort of crossover that I do?
Speaker C:Or do you feel moments where you're getting into the Irish style?
Speaker B:It feels like it's all kind of.
Speaker B:It's all just jumbled in there and it's all just kind of coming out as.
Speaker B:As whatever.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker C:The Braun one One.
Speaker C:The Bronwyn sound.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker B:I could turn on Irish mode, but I'd have to be in a traditional Irish jam session, and I hardly remember any tunes anymore.
Speaker B:It's like that side of my brain is way far back at this point.
Speaker C:One of the things that you've been mentioning and that we love about Americana music and bluegrass music is the collaboration aspect you mentioned, Dave, you mentioned my Tuttle in our research.
Speaker C:It sounds like Berkeley was a really big piece of your history, and it sounds like that might have been a big collaborative piece.
Speaker C:Can you maybe talk about what was that ethos, Fear, if that's a word, or what was that community at that time, and maybe a story of coming together of a musical superpower group.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: So I started in: Speaker B:And I didn't even know that that was just the year I was gonna go to college and.
Speaker B:But I ended up being in a class with almost all of my golden highway bandmates.
Speaker B:Molly, Dom, Kyle, and then.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:And then Sierra Hall, John Milander, Alex Hargraves, Mike Barne, Sam Grisman, Courtney.
Speaker B:Yeah, just like this.
Speaker C:They were in your class?
Speaker B:Yeah, we were all in school.
Speaker E:There was nobody in my class.
Speaker C:Where are those People in my class.
Speaker B:Down the road at NEC in New England Conservatory was Sarah Jaro's at the same time.
Speaker B:And I want to say other people, but.
Speaker B:So the parties were incredible.
Speaker B:We'd have these.
Speaker B:Everyone lived in these, like, really big houses.
Speaker B:They were at least three story houses, sort of off in the suburbs.
Speaker B:And five or six kids live in the different bedrooms, and then it's all split the rent.
Speaker B:So the parties would be.
Speaker B:Have all these different jam sessions in different rooms.
Speaker B:And you'd go.
Speaker B:The best parties.
Speaker B:You'd go from room to room, bedroom to bedroom, kitchen, whatever.
Speaker B:And there's like different genre happening in every room.
Speaker B:You're like, do I want to play bluegrass?
Speaker B:Do I want to play old time?
Speaker B:Celtic swing, Klezmer, whatever, Cajun.
Speaker B:It's all happening.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It was really special.
Speaker C:You hear about jazz at the time, the bebop era, and they all happen to be in New York and then writers in Europe and how they.
Speaker C:And it seems like that time at Berkeley was a special time in music.
Speaker C:What do you.
Speaker C:Was there something going on?
Speaker C:Like, why in the world was everyone enrolled at that school at that time?
Speaker C:And then how you guys hit it off so much?
Speaker B:I think Berkeley was one of the first colleges to offer a program like that.
Speaker B:And I also think they probably did a lot of.
Speaker B:They probably did a lot of outreach to get a lot of.
Speaker B:Of the talent that was around that age to the school in those first couple years, enticing them with scholarships and financial aid and stuff.
Speaker B:So I think Berkeley made a big push to gather people there, and then they had tons of visiting artists.
Speaker B:Like they were really making it a big thing.
Speaker B:But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker B:I found out about it because of Casey Dreeson.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, that's.
Speaker E:Was there between you and your classmates?
Speaker E:Is there.
Speaker E:Was there sort of a friendly competition or, like, did that.
Speaker C:You guys keg stands and fiddles?
Speaker E:I meant more to make each other better, not keg stands.
Speaker B:I mean, I don't.
Speaker B:I don't feel like.
Speaker B:I don't remember that much competition.
Speaker B:It wasn't that sort of horrible movie about jazz school.
Speaker B:It was way more like, everyone's just friends.
Speaker B:And I always felt like my only competition was myself or I was just trying to become better and that what I was struggling with.
Speaker B:Yeah, it felt community based.
Speaker E:Yeah, that's great.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, so Berkeley now fast forwarding.
Speaker C:Walking the red carpet.
Speaker C:So that happened last week.
Speaker B:Week, yeah.
Speaker C:Okay, so we're getting interview a week after walking the red carpet.
Speaker C:What was that, like, thinking about Berkeley days to, to now I'm on the red carpet at the Grammys, man.
Speaker B:Growing up my whole life, I loved reading People magazine.
Speaker B:My favorite People magazines were the ones that had the award show red carpet pics and dressed.
Speaker B:And, like, I loved those.
Speaker B:I would always scheme about what would I wear if I was ever on a red carpet, not thinking that would ever happen.
Speaker B:So it was.
Speaker B:I kept just kind of having to mentally pinch myself when I was actually there and be like, okay, wait, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm here.
Speaker B:This is it.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:I'm here.
Speaker E:My daughter likes to watch all those entertainment shows to see the red carpet.
Speaker E:And, yeah, you were walking down, and she goes, oh, that's a cool hat.
Speaker E:And I, and I go, we're gonna.
Speaker E:I go, we're talking to her next week.
Speaker E:And see, that's what I, that's what.
Speaker C:That'S what I was doing in my household.
Speaker C:I'm like, see?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So how much time did you spend?
Speaker C:You look great on there.
Speaker C:But how much time did you spend?
Speaker C:Okay, but.
Speaker B:Well, it was a, it was a quick wait, how much time did I spend on the carpet?
Speaker C:Well, I'll, I'm curious about that, but also how much thought.
Speaker C:So you've been, you've been thinking about the red carpet since you were a little kid, right?
Speaker C:You'd watched it.
Speaker C:Now you're going to be wearing.
Speaker C:And you already done this walk.
Speaker C:Right, right.
Speaker C:With.
Speaker C:With Golden Highway.
Speaker C:And so you knew.
Speaker C:Were you, like, how much time and effort were you thinking about designers and your message and all this with fashion or that wasn't part of it?
Speaker B:Well, I mean, I definitely spent sort of an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out my outfit.
Speaker B:But I, I, I got a stylist involved pretty soon because I was like, this is really overwhelming.
Speaker B:So I hired a stylist to kind of come up with a look.
Speaker B:But she.
Speaker B:But there was still a lot of stuff I had to figure out and find the right item of each thing.
Speaker B:And, yeah, an embarrassing amount of time.
Speaker E:But, I mean, I can't imagine it was fun.
Speaker C:Where do you, where do you start with that?
Speaker C:The message or.
Speaker C:I just want to look my best or what's the music?
Speaker C:How are you thinking about this?
Speaker B:I mean, I kind of left it in the stylist hands because I was like, this is so overwhelming.
Speaker B:I could go any direction.
Speaker B:I don't have one type of thing I always wear.
Speaker B:And she came up with this thing that was sort of like, I guess, kind of Ralph Lauren inspired with sort of a classic.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Kind of like a red, black, white and red kind of motif and that type of hat.
Speaker B:And so it was all sort of based around the hat.
Speaker B:That kind of boater hat.
Speaker E:It was awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:This kind of the style of dress that she thought looked good on my body type.
Speaker B:So I was like, okay, we'll go with that.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And she kind of came up with the different pieces that sort of tied it together.
Speaker B:But it's a lot of that.
Speaker E:It's got to be crazy with all those.
Speaker E:I mean, is it Dochi that won best rapper?
Speaker E:I mean, she's incredible, but she's got this presence to her.
Speaker E:Just that I can see on tv.
Speaker E:It's gonna be crazy being around these people.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:And I didn't like, I should have stayed on the red carpet longer for when the celeb, like the big celebrities always come later in the day right before the main award show.
Speaker B:But the Bluegrass awards happen at a smaller theater during the earlier award show.
Speaker B:So I kind of had to go through the red carpet early to get to my seat by the time my award was getting called and stuff.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And then I didn't make it back.
Speaker B:I was super hungry after that and I was like, I had to.
Speaker B:I had to get some food.
Speaker B:And that was probably.
Speaker E:I watched that.
Speaker E:The pre show that you.
Speaker E:That you were not.
Speaker E:And they really motor through really quick.
Speaker E:And then I was like.
Speaker E:Because that's the.
Speaker E:The ones.
Speaker E:Those are the awards I care about.
Speaker E:But.
Speaker E:But it's quite funny.
Speaker C:The red carpet makes you hungry.
Speaker C:If I remember, on the red carpet, Zach and I are for like the podcast awards.
Speaker E:I don't think we're getting there.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I, I.
Speaker C:Did you have any interactions with.
Speaker C:Any surprises at the Grammys in terms of people you ran into or moments that were.
Speaker B:I wish.
Speaker B:I wish I could say I'd met some.
Speaker B:A bunch of awesome celebs, but the only I.
Speaker B:I met, I just.
Speaker B:I just saw some friends.
Speaker B:I saw all my bluegrass friends who are in the bluegrass world and Bayla Fleck and.
Speaker B:And Sister Sadie and kind of.
Speaker B:Kind of say hi to those people.
Speaker B:But I didn't.
Speaker B:I didn't get.
Speaker B:I didn't any.
Speaker C:Like, I love the sense of.
Speaker C:In the community and like you said, we're not competing with each other.
Speaker C:You're.
Speaker C:You're trying to outdo yourself really, and grow as individual and let that.
Speaker C:And I hope that's a message for our listeners of bluegrass Americana.
Speaker C:This is something that Zach and I hear a lot from these artists.
Speaker C:And it's such a powerful and a beautiful community in that way.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:There's a Sturgill Simpson lyric that's like the only, only, only one who can bring me down is inside my head.
Speaker B:I think that's dead on for, for this, for this world that we live in.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:What, what does it mean for you living in Nashville in that area?
Speaker C:Because you can live anywhere but you're, you're, you're choosing to be there.
Speaker C:And, and what's it like as an artist?
Speaker B:Man, it feels like.
Speaker B:It feels sort of the epicenter of it all.
Speaker B:It feels like everyone's doing the same thing and, and it's the only place I've ever been where being a musician is not a weird profession and people wouldn't have follow up questions.
Speaker B:This time I rented a car in Nashville and they asked me my job and I said musician.
Speaker B:And they didn't like give me a hard time or blink an eye.
Speaker B:So it just feels like I'm in this whole community of like minded people.
Speaker B:And you can.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, it's great.
Speaker B:I love it here.
Speaker B:And I couldn't see living anywhere else, at least in this point in my life.
Speaker E:Yeah, you're right about.
Speaker E:It Is the epicenter of where this genre needs to be kind of congregating.
Speaker E:I mean, but you can go to the grocery store and you can.
Speaker E:Guy bagging groceries can be a better player than.
Speaker E:There's such a competitive nature to it.
Speaker E:I can imagine.
Speaker B:Yeah, we saw like country star Connie Smith in the grocery store the other day.
Speaker B:Like, oh.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:She's at Kroger too.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker C:What kind of cereal is she getting?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Such a special place for music and the musicians.
Speaker C:And I love the fact that you musicians of your caliber are comfortable there.
Speaker C:You feel like, hey, this is a lifestyle that you're choosing that, that works for you and your creativity.
Speaker C:And that leads me to my next question.
Speaker C:I mean, you're the Bronwyn Keith Hines musical legacy question.
Speaker C:Ten years, 20 years down the road, what do you hope your legacy.
Speaker C:He will have been at that point?
Speaker B:Wow, that's a, that's a big question.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker C:That's what we did here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:The hard ones.
Speaker B:It seems to me my, my goals keep.
Speaker B:Every time, every time I reach one goal, it seems I, I come up with a new goal and then, then there's a new thing.
Speaker B:But I, I hope my legacy would be a, a bunch of great albums that people still love to listen to.
Speaker B:And I hope I'm still on the road or I hope I'm.
Speaker B:I hope I can build a career that's sustainable and touring is.
Speaker B:Touring is a challenge.
Speaker B:Find a way to tour that's.
Speaker B:That's sustainable and hopefully still be inspired and still making.
Speaker B:Making music that, that matters to me and matters to other people and just keep growing as a.
Speaker B:Growing as an artist.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:I think that's.
Speaker B:That's the best I can hope for.
Speaker C:And we like to pose this question to you, too.
Speaker C:Other than people listen to your music, say, on Spotify or Download, what are some other ways, Bronwyn, that we as music fans can support you?
Speaker B:I mean, I think these days coming out to.
Speaker B:Coming out to a show in person is probably the biggest help.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:And buy a T shirt or something.
Speaker B:People can do that.
Speaker B:And that, that always helps because you're selling it at the show.
Speaker B:All the money's going right to the artist.
Speaker B:But yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And just.
Speaker B:And spreading the word.
Speaker B:Honestly, I think that's the other really big thing is tell a friend if you like, if you like an artist, artists talk about them and tell other people and that.
Speaker B:That's really helpful.
Speaker C:Well, the word is getting around everybody.
Speaker C:Bronwyn.
Speaker C:Keith Hines, check out her music, but definitely on tour.
Speaker C:What, what's the touring schedule looking like coming up?
Speaker B:Well, it's.
Speaker B:It's looking.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm doing a couple tours this spring, and then starting in August, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm full time working for my.
Speaker B:Myself and so my touring schedule is really going to kind of pop off at that point.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker B:Trying to hit as much of the country as I can this year.
Speaker C:Thanks for coming on the show, Ron.
Speaker B:Yeah, thank you so much for taking the time to chat.
Speaker A:First thing I've done for myself.
Speaker A:Cause I don't know When I built a world for me today I saw the field in the wild and it holds me all in I built a world for me today where no one can.
Speaker D:Thanks for joining Zach and I for this episode of Americana Curious.
Speaker D:Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.
Speaker D:I'm Ben Fanning and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.
Speaker D:Until next time, stay Americana Curious.
