We spoke with rising country music sensation, Kalie Shorr, about her journey in country music. The Portland, Maine native and Nashville resident is making immense waves in country. Along with country music’s other leading ladies, Shorr is using her raw talent and powerful voice to spread positive, empowering messages to women and girls everywhere. Fresh from her Awake – EP release, her CMT Women of Country Tour with Sara Evans and RaeLynn, and with her legendary Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville on the horizon, Shorr is seemingly unstoppable.
- Name: Kalie Shorr
- Hometown: Portland, Maine
- Dream Collaboration: Fall Out Boy or the Dixie Chicks
- Celebrity Crush: Henry Cavill (Superman)
- The song I currently have on repeat is… In The Rough – Anna Nalick
- I never leave home without my… Too Faced lipgloss!
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Teleportation! I travel so much and not having to do it would be amazing. I could sleep in my own bed every night!
Your latest EP, Awake Dropped on January 26th, (Congratulations!) could you tell us a little bit more about these songs and what they means to you? This was a very confidence driven project for me. I feel like I’ve really come into who I am recently and I wanted that to be reflected on the project. I was more honest on these songs than I ever have been and it was a really cathartic thing. Backseat is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written and I didn’t know how much I needed to write it until I did. I want everyone who listens to the project to know that anyone from anywhere can do anything and you should never be ashamed of the brokenness you’ve felt because it is what makes who you are.
Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? I was around six years old and it was during class. I can’t remember the title but it was in a purple star print journal. It was about having a sleepover with your girls and staying up too late. I hadn’t even had a sleepover at that point yet!
You’re making your Grand Ole Opry debut (Again, Congratulations!) on March 31st, which is such a staple in country music history. Are you excited? It’s one of the major pinnacle moments of any country artist’s career. I’m so honored and excited and I’m just trying to take it all in and remember everything.
You’re currently on the CMT Next Women of Country Tour with Sara Evans and RaeLynn, what has it been like being a part of this tour so far? What has been the most memorable moment of the tour? I couldn’t ask for a better first tour. I’m so thankful to be out with such amazing women. Rae and I have so much in common and we have gotten really close on this tour. We do a Dixie Chicks cover together at the end of her set every night and it’s just the most fun thing. Then, we both go out to sing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” with Sara and it’s just a dance party. I love them both!
How did you first get involved with Song Suffragettes? I played the very first show back in 2014. I was lucky enough to meet the production company early on in my Nashville journey. The first show was so small- maybe 15 or 20 people in the audience. Watching it grow has been really rewarding.
You recorded original song, “Time’s Up,” and the Keith Urban cover “Female” with the Song Suffragettes, could you tell us a little more about how that all came together? The team at Song Suffragettes is so amazing and bends over backwards to create opportunities for the girls who are a part of the show. Having those resources for recording and video production allows us to really focus on the important part which is creativity. Once we did our cover of “Female” we realized what we were capable of and it made “Times Up” possible. Getting 23 girls together to record a song in 24 hours was insane, but we pulled it off. I’m so proud of those two videos and the response has been amazing.
“Anyone from anywhere can do anything, and you should never be ashamed of the brokenness you’ve felt because it is what makes who you are.” – Kalie Shorr
Your single “Fight Like a Girl” shared similar themes, what does the #TimesUp movement mean to you as a woman in country music today? I think it’s so powerful to see so many women from so many different backgrounds band together to actually do something. It’s support and resolve and dedication to action. That’s the best way to solve any problem. There’s so much gender disparity in country music and I really hope we can learn from the unity of the Time’s Up movement to solve our genre’s issues.
What’s next for you in 2018? Anything exciting on the horizon? I’m so excited about what the first few months of this year have looked like- from the Opry, and my EP release, to the tour- so I just want to keep the momentum and stay on the road because I love it so much!
We love to end off with one of our favorite quotes, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I think that’s such a great quote. I think I’ve tried to live that way my whole life. I’ve taken a lot of risks to get where I am now but most of them have paid off and they’ve all lead me here. Music is all I want to do so any risk I have to take to get there is worth it.
Is there anything else you’d like to add for your fans and readers? Thank you for reading this far and I’m so thankful for all of you!!
Follow Kalie: Instagram // Twitter // Facebook
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