by danielle holian
photo by meg mccauly
Nashville-based alt indie-pop singer-songwriter Sara Kays is gaining a lot of popularity with her debut EP Camera Shy, and new single accompanied by music video “Remember That Night?” She holds nothing back in her songwriting, truly making her a stand-out artist. With over 1M+ followers on TikTok and 1.5M+ monthly listeners on Spotify, she's making positive moves with her music, while being open with her fans about her struggles in-turn making her art resonating.
Unclear Magazine caught up with Sara Kay to discuss her musical background, topics in her songwriting, her debut EP Camera Shy, latest single “Remember That Night?” and much more below.
For our readers, please tell us a bit about your background in music.
Sara: “I started playing guitar and singing when my mom gave me a guitar for Christmas in middle school. I quickly realized how much I loved it and started busking in the downtown area of my hometown. This led to playing gigs at local restaurants and bars which became my job throughout high school. After playing a lot of those gigs, I decided to sort of shift my focus to writing songs, and a couple years later here I am. :-)”
Who or what are your musical influences?
S: “A lot of my early influences were a mix of pop punk and singer/songwriter artists like Mayday Parade, Panic! At The Disco, Ed Sheeran, Jake Bugg — and in recent years artists like Alec Benjamin, Kacey Musgraves, Cavetown.”
Why is it important for you to have resonating music dealing with internal struggles with divorced parents, body image, loneliness, and mental health issues?
S: “It’s important for me because it’s true to what I’m going through, and I’ve found that when I’m just completely honest in my music that people who relate find comfort in it. It has been difficult to release a few of my songs, but knowing they might help anyone feel better makes it worth it to me.”
What was your principle around writing your debut EP Camera Shy by being emotionally vulnerable to comfort listeners who relate to your lyrical storytelling?
S: “Like I said before, it has been difficult at times to be emotionally vulnerable in my songs, but knowing that they comfort people makes it worth it!”
Tell us about your latest track “Remember That Night?” and how was the process of making the music video?
S: “I wrote ;Remember That Night?’ after hearing from my ex who had broken up with me a few months prior. Hearing from him sparked a lot of memories and I sort of felt like I had to get over him all over again in that moment. I started writing the song that night and finished/released it within nine days.
Shooting the music video ended up being a lot of fun – it was my first video and there were a lot of nerves going into it, but it was such a laid back shoot. We drove around to different locations in Tennessee for the shots, and my producer Steven was there for most of it because he let us use his car (the same car we used for the cover art).”
And how has your music evolved since you began?
S: “Like with doing anything over and over, I’ve definitely noticed my writing improve over time. The process of writing has become more efficient for me, and I also feel like now I’m more willing to write about things that I maybe would’ve held back on two years ago. Steven, who’s been producing my music from the start, has also just gotten better with each song and he’s a big part of the evolvement.”
How has the pandemic helped your creative juices?
S: “The only way I would say it has really helped my creativity is by forcing me to stay inside more which has just lead to writing songs more often than I think I normally would.”
And finally, what’s one fun fact about yourself for our readers?
S: “I love croutons.”