Avery Kern is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter. Springfield-based musician Micah Walk sat down with the Pawnee native to discuss her newly released debut album, Scenic Route.
I don’t want to make this the focus of this interview, but I have a unique interest in your career because you’re a former guitar student of mine. We worked together up until your move to Nashville. Remind me what year that was?
I headed to Nashville in August of 2019 to attend Belmont University. I majored in songwriting and graduated in 2023.
What were those early days in Nashville like, suddenly being immersed in music and the industry?
It was definitely an adjustment that was both challenging and inspiring. It felt like (and still does sometimes) everyone I met was creating music in some way. Even though I had been doing music for many years before I moved to Nashville, I quickly felt like a beginner all over again.
While intimidating, it definitely helped push me out of my comfort zone and grow into where I am at now.
Let’s get right to your new album, Scenic Route. Did you have any cowriters for these 10 songs?
I wrote every song on the album on my own except for “Not My Horse,” which was written with my friend Josh Rains. I went to him with a concept and chorus, put our heads together for a little bit, and made a song I really love and am super proud to have written alongside him.
What is your favorite track and why?
This is one of those questions my answer changes to nearly every day. “Scenic Route” is a favorite for many reasons. It was actually the last song I wrote for the album, was written in an hour, and finished two hours before I had to go pre-track it before my main studio session. It was the song that tied all the songs on the album together. “Scenic Route,” the track, feels like the story of my life, and is a reminder that I’ll get where I’m meant to be going when it’s time.
There isn’t a quick path to the dreams you’re chasing, you may as well enjoy the ride.
When we were recording the track “Scenic Route,” my producer, Justine Blazer, and I decided it needed some mandolin and fiddle, so she reached out to Rhonda Vincent, who I am a big fan of, and Rhonda’s fiddle player, Adam Haynes, to add those parts. I was feeling ambitious, so I asked Justine to ask Rhonda to sing on the track, and Rhonda replied “Absolutely!”
About a week later, Rhonda invited us both to hang out backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, where she asked me if she could record “Scenic Route” for her most recent album, A Possibility. I was over the moon and simultaneously fangirling, because that was the first time we had met in person.
About a week or so after that, she invited me and my producer to sing the song with her on the Grand Ole Opry stage! Singing a song I wrote on the Opry stage was a moment I had dreamed of for so long, and will never forget. I just got to sing it again with her at the Opry this past Friday. Rhonda has been incredibly generous to me and I am beyond grateful for every special moment and opportunity she has shared with me.
Both of our versions are out on all streaming platforms. I can be heard singing harmonies on her version, and she is featured singing on mine. The places “Scenic Route” has taken me truly embody the message of the song.
All 10 songs are not only very well-written, but also very well-produced, with a great band. Who produced it? And is it your live band, session players or both?
Thank you! It was produced by Justine Blazer, who I met at a venue we both performed at on Broadway in Nashville. We had a meeting to discuss working together, and we really clicked.
Working with Justine was not only so much fun, but also so easy. I am so glad to have crossed paths with her downtown, because we really work some magic together. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to record their music.
We used session players for the album, and Justine selected them after we talked about what instrumentation and vibe I was trying to achieve. We recorded nine songs in six hours. Justine and the session players I had are top of the line, and really nailed the vision I had for the album.
Download or stream Scenic Route: https://hypeddit.com/averykern/scenicroute
Catch Avery performing live at Local’s in Pawnee at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23.
