“When I first moved to Nashville, I had this idea that I was gonna sing at some bar and get discovered,” laughs Tiera Kennedy. “I thought I was gonna have that kind of story.”
Kennedy exudes a contagious joy even when discussing the hustling highs and lows of the music industry she’s experienced over the past eight years. Although the Alabama native struggled to find a place for her brand of R&B-inflected country, last year’s debut LP Rooted established her unique sound on her own terms.
“Everything that I’ve been through has empowered me to just really sit in who I am as an artist, as a human,” she offers. “I’ve realized that on the other side of that there are actual humans listening to my music that just want to hear honesty and want to hear music that’s going to get them through their day, whatever they’re going through, and the only way I can do that is to be my most authentic self.”
“I find my healing through music and through my community.”
Tiera Kennedy
Kennedy is among the crop of young artists currently expanding Nashville’s sound, embracing a stylistic range of music they grew up with that seamlessly melds upbeat pop, country sincerity, and R&B grooves into earworming anthems. The 27-year-old was even one of the emerging talents highlighted by Beyoncé on last year’s groundbreaking Cowboy Carter.
Yet the perceived genre remains less important for Kennedy than the message of her music as she seeks to project sincerity and positive energy.
“I want to create music that is going to fill my soul and speak to what people need in the world,” she attests. “Truly – and I pray that I say this the rest of my career – the only thing, the only goal for me is for my music to reach the people that need it. I find my healing through music and through my community, and I think everybody deserves that. I just really have always wanted to bring positivity through my lyrics.”
Tiera Kennedy
Friday (Weekend One only), 1:15pm, American Express stage
This article appears in October 3 • 2025.
