Get to Know: Karen Waldrup

Courtesy of the Artist

New Orleans native, Karen Waldrup, is a triple threat musician, songwriter and recording artist known for her thrilling performances and bold musical style.  
In November of 2016, Waldrup, who recently won 3 Nashville Independent Music Awards for Best Live Country Performer, Best Video and Best Solo Female Country Artist, became a viral sensation when her cover of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” garnered more than 24 million views (and counting). In early 2018, Waldrup released her new single, “Warm In Your Sunshine” and recently she graciously took the time to chat about her roots, the importance of giving back, and much more.

While you currently live in Nashville, you’re originally from New Orleans. How did you initially get into music and decide it was something you wanted to pursue professionally?
I’ve been singing my whole life, but when I was about sixteen I was in the church choir and one of the men in the choir sang and wrote songs – he had a new one every week – and I remember thinking that I wanted to do that. So, at sixteen, I started playing guitar and writing songs, and I got hooked. At the same time, I had an incident where I got into a lot of trouble. My friends and I went to the French Quarter, which was a place, for obvious reasons, that we were not allowed to go. I got grounded for three months straight and during that time all I could do was play guitar, cheerlead, and go to school….and I played a lot of guitar. In fact, I credit my guitar playing to that time because I spent three months in isolation and really worked on it. I always tell parents when kids do something wrong to just ground them to their instrument!
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Out of trouble then, you found your calling.
​You went from singing in church to singing country. What steered you in that direction?
My big sister was into country. She liked Faith Hill, Reba, and the Dixie Chicks, so we listened to them a lot. And the more I listened, the more I became inspired, especially by the Dixie Chicks and their writing, style, and harmonies. Eventually, I developed my own unique sound, which I call "nostalgically new country." It’s lyrically country, but with a soul feel since I am from Louisiana. 

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Before you could be found on CMT with your videos, you were on Bravo’s Platinum Hit with hosts Jewel and Kara Diaguardi. How did that influence your path?
I was playing shows all through my time at the University of Southern Mississippi, and after graduation, I knew that I did not want to go back to Louisiana because a lot of the music there focused on Jazz and Blues. I was focused on country, so I knew I needed to go to NYC, LA, Austin, or Nashville. I fell in love with Nashville because of its small-town feel. I moved there after college and began selling copy machines door to door. It was really hard, but I knew that eventually, the day would come when I would make music full time, and when that day came I wanted to be ready, so I saved as much money as I could.
I feel like every artist needs that first step on the ladder they have to climb, and for me the first big step came when I got cast on the Bravo show which allowed me to quit my day job. It allowed me to start touring acoustically and then one gig at a time, I would treat people kindly and do what I said I was going to do, and the next time I’d play an area, I’d play a bigger room; and that's how it continues to happen today, in that gradual way. For me, it’s like having a snowball at the top of a mountain - you start out with a little bit, but then it starts rolling and accumulating snow, gradually get bigger.

You're right everyone needs that first step.
I imagine the show was also an amazing learning experience?
Yes, I learned tremendously. The Bravo show was like Iron Chef for songwriters. Each week you would get a challenge to write a song and each week a songwriter would be eliminated based on how the judges felt the song was crafted. It was a unique show that changed my path and taught me so much. I learned about songwriting and the hard work that comes with making video content. I received so much advice that I continue to use every single day.

You post a lot of video content to Facebook, and one, in particular, that went viral was your cover of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.” Was that a turning point for you?
Honestly, I think the turning point for me was the one night I was at a Baptist church and I heard the preacher, Dr. Robert Smith Jr., speak. I wasn’t ready for it, but it changed my life. He said, 'The moment we stop trying to be important is the moment that we actually start living God’s calling for us.' That was so powerful and in that moment, I decided to stop trying to be important and that changed everything. Before hearing him speak, I believed that I had to have the look, the hair, the right people, and the perfect videos. After that, I started putting my phone up in my living room and playing country music for people around the world and that’s when it changed. I think people could feel my authenticity come through and could relate to me in that way more than they could in some expensive video. That’s when I started to change and that’s when I started to live stream on FB every opportunity I could, from a show in Memphis to in the van or in my living room. ...and the fans got behind me.

 
I got a request from a fifteen-year-old girl in Tennessee to learn “I Hope You Dance” and play it for her for her birthday. She paid $80 and I learned the song, played it, and posted it on the internet for her. After it was posted, it hit so hard, and was shared so many times, I was blown away. I have more views on this song than any video I ever paid for and made. It had 5-6 million views the first week and it’s up to 25 million now and it’ll just keep on going. And that really is the power of Facebook and your ability to connect with people on it. When we create a video we first want to connect, then we give the song for free, and then at the end we ask for something, whether it’s a share or a follow on Spotify or to subscribe to our YouTube. I learned the power of giving and if as an artist you give, you will receive a million times back.  Connecting with people’s hearts by giving and being kind is the approach we’ve taken and the most beautiful thing.

Recently, I’ve been asked by Berklee to speak to students about this and I think it's a powerful thing for them to not only see a new approach in music, but also to appreciate a different approach and want to learn about it. I get to teach these students a new way to make music and for me that’s cool. Music continues to provide opportunities in the most unbelievable ways. It might not be how I expected my career to go, but in a lot of ways, it is so much richer.

How wonderful and fulfilling. 
You’re currently preparing for your new album, Justified. Will we be hearing it sometime this year?
I have been living in this period in country music where it’s been an uphill climb. I have been told every way you could imagine that people were not working with a female artist. I’ve been told females don’t sell tickets, they don’t sell booze, and they don’t put on a show; every time I turn around there’s something. It’s definitely been challenging, so, in October of 2016, I decided that no matter what I was going to make my dream record. I’d written 150 songs and I was going to make a record for me, my family, and my legacy. I decided to launch an Indiegogo campaign and see if maybe the people who love me would pre-order the record – and I’ll tell you, crowdfunding was the most emotional and rewarding experience. It was a slow start, but then two weeks later I did the “I Hope You Dance” video and the Indiegogo got wheels. Once people saw the video, they saw the campaign, and wanted to be a part of it and it seemed like it was funded overnight. I got to work with my dream producer, Garth Fundis, and record my dream song of Lori McKenna’s “Sometimes He Does.” But the coolest part is that I own it all, from the masters to the publishing and licensing – every single element of that record belongs to me. That is a super rare situation and it’s the biggest payoff.  Now, we’re shopping it around to people I have known for eight years, but this time I’m coming to the table with a finished product that I own, which is a game changer and completely empowering. 

Congratulations, that is a huge accomplishment. In a few days you will be heading to Haiti. Can you speak about what you will be doing there?
We’re going to Haiti April 9 -12 on a trip where we are partnering with Mission of Hope. They were looking for someone who could help expose the organization and reach a wider audience and when we sat down with them they said, ‘We just want you to land in Haiti and do what God calls you to do.’ And they got me. They are going to use one of my songs, called “Tell Them We Lived,” in a video with which we are hoping to raise $500,000 for a high school. We’re going to make the video, give away a guitar, talk about how music affects kids and the elderly and play country music until we fall asleep, and use the power of internet to raise awareness and provide money for the high school. We believe we can do it.

Giving back is something that is truly important to you.
God gave me this gift and called me to do this and I feel it’s my duty to use it the best way I can to inspire the world and make a difference. Plus, it’s so much more fun to give. I might get in a van and drive 7.5 hours to play a smoky bar in Georgia for 100 people, but that’s not how you grow and make a difference. You grow and make a difference by playing that same bar and setting your phone up and streaming the show, which makes it become something much more powerful. 

Something we do every Wednesday is called “WaldrupWednesdays” which is a weekly video series [each broadcast reaches over 100,000 people] which allows me to reach so many people, like a trucker in the back of his cab at a truck stop or an elderly person in a nursing home or someone with cancer who tells me how they look forward to each episode. My fans - Waldrup Worldwide -  are from all over globe from Germany to Australia to Norway, connecting through music. And what’s cool is they become true friends who travel to my shows together. They're not just a fanbase, they're a family.

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