Kayla Conn, ‘Ride': Teen With Texas-Sized Voice Releases Debut EP (LISTEN)
Singer-songwriter Kayla Conn picked up her dad's guitar at age 3 and taught herself to play by the time she was 10. Born in Cypress, Texas, northwest of Houston, Kayla penned her first song at 12 years old. In the three years since then -- yes, she's just 15 years old -- Kayla has co-written with Billy Dean, Brian White (co-writer of Rodney Atkins' No. 1 hit, "Watching You," among others) and more. She has also opened shows for such artists as Love & Theft, Scotty McCreery and Gloriana, among others.
The teenager, who possesses an impressive set of pipes for a singer of any age, released her self-titled EP on April 16 via iTunes. Listen to a track from the EP, the freewheeling "Ride," below.
Among the other tunes on her five-song EP is "Memory for Two," which she co-wrote (with Brian White and Karyn Williams) as a tribute to her grandparents. Her grandfather, passed away recently due to Alzheimer's.
"Memory for Two" is about what it did to him and the effect it had on her," Kayla tells the Orange Leader newspaper. "I remember how it changed him and how difficult it was on my grandma during all that. He passed away in December. It's hard to see how it really affects everyone."
Kayla will be opening several shows for country star Greg Bates in the next few weeks. For details, click here.