We were lucky to catch up with Kiersten Rummell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kiersten, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I’ve known since I was a little kid that I wanted to be a musician. My parents tell me I was constantly writing songs, singing in the backseat of their car and always gathering up the family to perform little shows for them. Fast forward to high school, where I started to take the writing side more seriously. During that time, I felt so strongly that I needed to apply to Belmont University for their Songwriting Major. While at Belmont, I learned so much about the craft of songwriting as well as the music business, and discovered I had a passion for writing for other artists. While I do feel purpose in making music and love what I do, my true calling will always be to tell others about Jesus. To quote one of my songs: “The point of my life, is to point it to HIS.” That is where I find my true purpose.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a songwriter in Nashville! I write 5 days a week, working with up-and-coming pop & country artists, writers & producers in town. I also produce demos, sing vocals for other peoples music and write custom songs as a Songfinch artist. My favorite part of this job is crafting the song. Getting to figure out the puzzle & how to best serve the song is where I feel most at home. Another part of my work is performing my music, and I’ve been blessed to play at some incredible places including the legendary Bluebird Cafe, The Listening Room & Tin Pan South Songwriting Festival.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There are so many important lessons I’ve learned over the years. One piece of knowledge that helped transform my writing was from my lyric writing professor Liz Hengber, who told me “there’s no such thing as writers block.” This truly changed how I look at songwriting. As someone who writes 5 days a week, I can’t count on ‘getting struck with inspiration’ everyday. I need to find inspiration myself. In her class, I learned so many writing prompts & techniques to make inspiration myself and find something worth writing about.
Another lesson I learned was actually from the amazing songwriter & artist Larry Gatlin while we were on a plane headed to Nashville! He gave me a pencil with a huge eraser on it and said that “the key to being a great songwriter is using your eraser way more than your pencil.” That helped me learn how to not hold too tightly to my words, be open to critiques and collaborate well with others.
Lastly, another piece of advice that has always stuck with me is when my dad told me to “enjoy the journey.” Everyone will have different paths, different paces and different ways of defining success. One day I’ll look back fondly over these years of hard work, rejections, unknowns and exciting firsts. So instead of wishing I was 10 steps ahead, I try to live with a grateful heart for exactly where I’m at and just “enjoy the journey.”
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I have an amazing roster of artists I get to write with and I’m always looking to grow my community of up-and-coming musicians to collaborate with! I mostly work with pop country, indie pop and contemporary christian artists but also love doing projects outside of my typical genres. I work with artists in the Nashville area but also write with artists online in New York, LA, Texas, Australia and much more! If you are interested in collaborating connect with me on instagram @kierstenrummell.
And if you are not a musician but love music, check out the link in my instagram bio for a custom song! I partner with Songfinch to write & produce custom songs as gifts for you and your loved ones.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kierstenraemusic.wixsite.com/kierstenraemusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kierstenrummell/?hl=en
- Other: biosite: https://bio.site/KierstenRae custom songs: https://www.songfinch.com/artists/86291
Image Credits
Taylor Rummell, Kenzie Baker, Scott Rummell
