KC Johns knows of what she speaks. When she releases a song, like the hot new country single Best Seat in the House, the kind of wistful nostalgia, temperance, and strength comes from Johns’ roots as a Mississippian. That kind of unapologetic, raw authenticity is a critical part of why she is emerging as one of the most exciting new acts in popular music, specifically country, in a time when the power is being given back to the hands of musicians.
While for just that reason popular music is getting a welcome, quality-centric upgrade, country in particular is proving to be a creative sandbox from which all sorts of new interpretations are emerging. Johns seems aware of the competition and ingeniously doesn’t try to go too out there with her interpretations or sound. She has a somewhat traditional composition to each of the tracks, but in the process imbues each song with searingly powerful, emotional and evocative lyrics. The result feels less like catchy hooks and more like stories, with beginnings middles and ends, the signature of a true singer-songwriter in peak form.
Part of that likely is because for Johns, these are indeed stories – personal stories – that she shares with courage and conviction for a wide audience. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you don’t have to be a country fan to be a KC Johns fan. You just need to enjoy authenticity and a good song, and when you’re in the presence of an artist like that transcending genre bias, they’re in it for the long haul.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6yLIAbi2fHaLdQKxsOUn3U
“It’s definitely been a long, winding road,” the Nashville transplant told local publication Nashville Voyager. “The reason I use the word winding is because I didn’t come straight to Nashville first, I was on cruise ships as a rockbound vocalist for 5-6 years and performing at Dollywood Theme Parks, then eventually moving to Nashville in 2017. One of the struggles I went through was finding who I was as an artist. When I met Billy Smiley, is when I finally knew exactly the type of music I wanted to release. But this business is tough. Not only am I the artist, but there’s a ton of work that goes into it, I’m the booking agent, the marketing guy, and everything in between. But I do have to point out my team – creating a great team this past year is when everything finally started coming together. I’m extremely grateful for the winding road.”
This is reflected beautifully in the lyrics for Best Seat in the House, where Johns pays poignant tribute to her grandfather. In the lyric video released concurrently with the song, there’s a video of both Johns and her grandfather jamming on guitars. This kind of affable and personal nature to each of the tracks could be cloying, but because Johns imbues all that with such craft it simply feels natural. “I grew up listening to Country & Rock n Roll. I wanted to combine the two to make my own sound,” she said. “…I’m super proud of how people have responded to my music. I have incredibly great supporters…I’m proud of my team the most. It takes a village to make things happen and I couldn’t do any of this without them. I believe what sets me apart the most is there aren’t many women out there doing the Country/Rock n Roll thing besides Miranda Lambert. My hope for 2022 (onward) is to continue to rock out and bring smiles to people’s faces with my music!”
Gwen Waggoner