Kylie Rae Harris

Biography

Kylie Rae Harris

It was a love-hate relationship for sure.

The last thing Kylie wanted to see dragging up to the curb every afternoon after school was her parent’s old Chevy Suburban. The thing was an eyesore and an embarrassment. What teenager wouldn’t be mortified? She hated it; and she’ll never forget it.

But she’ll also never forget the road trips in that Suburban from her family’s home in Wylie, Texas, northeast of Dallas, to the rolling hills hidden beneath East Texas forests. She loved those.

“We spent what seemed like hours to a kid in that old Suburban,” she said. “My step-dad is a music lover and he was the one who introduced the whole Texas-Americana, singer-songwriter thing to me. It’d be he and my mom in the front seat, and me and my two sisters and brother in the back. He’d put on Radney Foster or Jerry Jeff Walker and we’d sing along to all these different harmony parts. I love that memory.”

She’s never strayed from those early influences. Throw in singer/songwriters Walt Wilkins and Patty Griffin and you begin to understand why her lyrics sound so….real.

“You can just feel something about somebody when they mean what they are singing,” Kylie says. “That’s so important to me. Music is a connecting point with people; it’s fellowship with people. It’s why I love music.”

By age 12, Kylie knew singing is what she wanted to do with her life. Her mother enrolled her in a vocal camp thinking that would “get it out of her system.” It was like throwing kerosene on a fire, but she nearly extinguished the fire when after high school Kylie spent a year in an abusive relationship that ended with her in trouble with the law. It was a dark period where she alienated nearly everyone important to her. That’s when she wrote Change, an autobiographical song that is both an explanation of a lifestyle and reminder to keep moving forward – to change.

“To me, songs are supposed to have a purpose,” Kylie said. “I trapped myself in a situation and finally it clicked. I had to change. People to some extent have the ability to dictate their own happiness and I try to put that in my songs. I want people to see there is a way out when they feel like they’ve trapped themselves. They’ve got to change something.”

The realization she needed to change actually came from an earlier song she’d written, All the Right Reasons. “I believe all the wrong things happen for all the right reasons,” she sings. The lyrics reminded her of why she is intensely passionate about playing music.

“I want my music to move people,” she says. “I’ve got this platform to do something good for people, to speak into their lives, and in return it is good for my soul. I just want people to know that whatever they’re going through in life, it is going to be okay. That’s the message of All the Right Reasons.”

To underestimate the importance of music to Kylie is to underestimate how piercing her blue eyes can be. Sure, Kylie loves to talk (a lot), meet people, network, shop for 70’s retro clothes (yes, she has a collection of bell bottoms), be outside, ride horses, hang out around a campfire with a guitar in hand and sit on her front porch for quiet moments of reflection and recharging. However, it wouldn’t be unusual for you to pass Kylie late at night cruising the streets slamming a can – or three – of Red Bull with music blaring and her singing at the top of her lungs.

“Music has always been in me,” she said. “I have to do it. This is all or nothing for me. I’m going to be writing and singing music the rest of my life whether I’m broke or not so I might as well go for it.”

And yes, she’d go for it even if it meant riding from one show to the next in that old Chevy Suburban.

Latest News

Can't say no to Larry Joe!

April 29, 2012

(CLICK TO SEE VIDEO OF PERFORMANCE WITH RADNEY FOSTER)

What a fantastic way to end my weekend at Larry Joe Taylor’s Texas Music Festival! Friday afternoon, I sang one of my favorite songs with one of my greatest influences, Radney Foster. I’ve sang with him a few times before, but this one in particular was super special for me. I realized afterwards, that I have been singing along to “I’m In” for literally a decade. Every once in awhile, you come across songs that always speak out to you no matter what point in your life they sneak in, and “I’m In” has always been one of those songs for me. People made comments throughout the day about how well our voices blend together, and it makes total sense considering I learned to sing harmonies to Radney Foster’s records. THEN, Saturday I sang with Michael Hearne, Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros, and Larry Joe Taylor, who ended up letting me sing the last line of the entire festival in front of almost 50,000 people!!! HOLY SMOKES! It’s moments like that when the surreal-ness of how blessed I am starts feeling very real, and it pours out in happy tears on a 2 1/2 hour drive all the way home! Thank you all so, so much for supporting me throughout my journeys. To my fellow artists, to my fans, family, friends & the people I have yet to cross paths with, but will down the road….THANK YOU!

-KRH
Kylie on The Grand Ole Opry

April 18, 2012

OH MY WORD!! So, last night I made my Grand Ole Opry debut with the Josh Abbott Band! I swear one day I’m going to run out of luck. The way these cool opportunities present themselves never cease to baffle me! I had a show with the “Hold My Baby & Watch This” tour in New Braunfels Sunday and left my phone at the venue(naturally). So I fly out to Nashville totally phone-less and I’m sitting in a meeting with Wayne Kirkpatrick when my manager, Chelsea, walks in and says, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Zane Williams just called from the studio & said that Josh Abbott has been trying to get a hold of you since 8 o’clock this morning to sing with him on the Grand Ole Opry tonight.” Mind you, it is now 3:30pm! So my people call his people… and boom!! Four hours later I’m singing “Oh,Tonight” with JAB in front of a fantastic crowd at the Opry! Not bad for my first gig in Tennessee! I’ve known Josh and his crew for about 4 years now, and I am so incredibly proud of them! Such genuine, good-hearted, wonderful people who share the spotlight with other Texas artists as much as they can! To share his debut with me? Well, I can’t think of any better people to share that experience with. From the bottom of my heart, thanks Josh

-KRH
Baskins Commercial Shoot

March 23, 2012

Just wrapped up shooting two commercials for Baskins Western Wear! What an experience! I’ve never thought of myself as an actress, but after how well the shoot went-I think I could get used to it! Thankfully, having Troubadour,TX film me so often has really helped put me at ease and feel natural in front of the camera. I’m excited to see the end result! Hopefully, I did a great job representing Rock & Roll Cowgirl and Justin Boots. Be looking for the commercials to air in Texas soon!

-KRH
Gotta Lovett!

March 5, 2012

Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen got inducted into the TX Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame last night on the ACL Stage in Austin,TX. Moody Theater was packed FULL of some of the greatest artists, songwriters & industry folks of our time……and of all the stardom in this great state- the TX Songwriters Association picked ME to open for Lyle & REK! Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe this experience! The only other people to grace the stage that evening were Steve Earle, JT Van Zandt, and my oh,so talented friend, Zane Williams! After my performance, my phone flooded with the sweetest texts from fellow musician friends in the audience. Just goes to show how supportive and close-knit the TX music family is. I honestly can’t even put words together to express how giddy and overwhelmed with joy I am right now! With that being said, I look forward to seeing what this year has in store for me. I’m only 22, it’s only March, and I just got to do something that most people only spend their whole life dreaming about. WOW!

-KRH
Troubadour TX Live Performances

March 3, 2012

Kicked off the Troubadour,TX Live mini tour at Common Grounds in Waco yesterday with Zane Williams, Woody Russell, Ryan Edgar and Little Brave! People ask me all the time if I get nervous at shows and I can honestly say no—-that is, until you put me in a song-swap with four other INCREDIBLE artists like that! Holy palm-sweating! What an adventure! We then hauled down to the Saxon Pub in Austin to play a private showcase for the TX Heritage Songwriters Association. Again I say, holy palm-sweating! So incredibly humbled, proud and honored that I’ve been surrounded by so many wonderful people along this journey. Looking forward to more TTX Live dates!

-KRH