Today we’d like to introduce you to Reagan Quinn.
Reagan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in the heart of Texas as the daughter of a songwriter and found my voice early in life. I began writing songs at age six and continued to write hundreds throughout my childhood and teenage years. However, I didn’t pursue performing as a career until my mid-twenties.
During that time, I worked as a nanny and teacher and began to see a correlation between music and healthy development. For me, songwriting has always been a form of therapy. I decided to pursue my bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in Psychology, Addiction Recovery, and Family Studies.
After a few years of working in that field, I began performing locally. Performing turned to recording and a full-time career as a songwriter and musician. I now perform all across the state and have recorded and released two EPs.
I also developed a Music & Movement program based in music therapy, which I teach in Austin and surrounding cities.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the new songs I’m most proud of is Where The Wildflowers Grow. My sister and her husband and children are currently stationed in Germany. Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been able to visit her. While there, she suffered a miscarriage. As her sister, I felt her pain and longed to be able hold and comfort her. I watched her undergo that pain–both physical and mental–countries apart from her friends and family.
With her loss on my mind, I began writing Where The Wildflowers Grow. It’s a song about grief, questioning, and also finding hope. A month after writing the song, my grandfather passed away. Before he passed, I sang the song at his bedside. A few days later, my grandmother asked me to sing it at his funeral.
That song has become important to my entire family, as well as to myself and my sister. I’m so excited to share it with the world later this year.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In 2015, after starting to perform at local events, I signed with an independent label who produced my debut EP. It was my first experience being in a recording studio, and I was heavily influenced by production. Disappointed in the manipulation of my songs, I felt a pull to return to my roots and the music that influenced her early years. This began my entry into Texas Country Music and the release of my second EP, Texas Sky.
Released in 2018, “Texas Sky” is a simply recorded collection of songs written on the banjo and recorded in my own home. I wanted to showcase the lyrical and storytelling style that I had adapted in my youth from artists like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. The release of that project, along with a lot of hustle, helped me enter the next stage of my career as a musician. In 2018 I quit my teaching job and became a full-time musician–hitting the road and performing all over Texas.
A few months later, I combined my love for music with my experience in psychology and child development to create a children’s music program. The Music & Movement classes I teach are centered in discovery and music therapy. We take time during each class to practice mindfulness and explore how music effects our bodies and minds. I have taught these classes in Austin, Round Rock, Lockhart, and other cities. We are unique because we offer “home classes” for groups of friends and neighbors. This has allowed us to continue teaching in a safe way throughout the pandemic.
In 2020, as the pandemic shut down the live music industry, I again turned back to my roots as a songwriter. I released two new singles and began work on my first full-length album. This time I adopted full creative control in the studio and chose musicians and producers I trusted. I continued to perform and teach virtually.
Emerging from the Covid crisis, I was stunned to see us become more booked than ever before. In 2021, we played more than 100 shows and hope to continue that pattern in 2022.
A life in the music industry–pandemic or not–is constant work. There’s so much more to it than just writing, performing, and recording music. I handle my own booking, managing, social media, taxes, contracts, and invoices. However, I’ve found that doing something you love, especially something that benefits others, is worth every second.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
When COVID began a nationwide pandemic, I don’t think any of us knew what to expect. Like many in my industry, I was anxious and worried about what the future would look like. I used that time to write and record new music. I released two singles. One of them, Rainbow, I wrote when the pandemic was at an all-time high. I was driving back from one of the few shows that hadn’t been canceled. I was on a highway that was twisting and turning. I thought about how it was impossible to see around the bends that were up ahead, but I knew that at the end of that highway was home.
During the pandemic, it was hard to see or know what was around the bend. But I knew that there was a light at the end of the darkness. I knew that I was still on the right path and that everything would be ok.
From that experience came the song, and from that song came the rest of the album that we’re currently recording at Yellow Dog Studios. Coming out of the pandemic, I felt like a stronger songwriter and musician. We also made 2021 our best year, playing over 100 shows and releasing new music. It was amazing to see things come full circle and end up better than they were before.
Contact Info:
- Email: reaganquinnmusic@gmail.com
- Website: www.reaganquinn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reaganquinnmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reaganquinnmusic
Image Credits
Lyssa Quinn Golden Age
