#153 Kirsty Lee Akers
Kirsty Lee Akers currently on Channel 9 reality TV show 'The Block' with husband Jessy and releasing her first single under her new independent record label, this is a rare talent who is proud of her First Nations heritage, she is a woman of the Wonnarua Nation (Hunter Valley – Australia). Akers describes herself as a fusion of country and Americana, with pop stylings. She has embraced a global musical culture and now spends her time between Australia and a hard-earned international touring schedule in North America and Europe. Although she spends time overseas during the year, Australia will always be her spiritual home.
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Transcript
Kirsty Lee Akers
Rae Leigh: Welcome to a, Songwriter Trystwith Kirsty Lee Akers. Welcome to the show.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Thanks for having me.
Rae Leigh: No, I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long time coming. I think so. I like to start by getting everyone to tell us a little bit about who you are and where you come.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah. I just said my name's Kirsty Lee Akers and I come.from, a very small town in the hunter valley called curry Curry, inelegant one G one G. Which is not far from there, but,, I grew up, listening to country music, my whole life, my, my mom and my Nana, my aunties. They all sang country music and, mom and dad would travel around.
Kids, every weekend pretty much. And I'd be going in a different talent quest and just trying to get my name out there. I entered my very first talent quest at three years old and still actually, yeah, I have the footage of that, which is amazing.
Rae Leigh: That's crazy.
Kirsty Lee Akers: we never had a video camera or anything like that back when I was a kid, but someone happened to be in the audience that day and they filmed it.And then later on in life, they gave me a copy of it, which was amazing. So yeah, I was like, I was on stage singing with a band at three years old, which is just crazy. I always.
Rae Leigh: I mean, I've got three kids and I don't think any of them would do that. And they're not, they'renot three anymore. How did that happen? How did you end up in that situation?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, because my mom saying as well, and she was quite young, she was only 16 when she fell pregnant with me. So she was still a kid who, and you know, yeah, we did actually, we used to sing on stage together and, and then, you know, I got to a point where I was wanting to kick her off and sing by myself.
So she would, she would stand at the side of the stage and She would sing the words really loudly. So I could hear, and I'd know where to come in properly with the band until eventually I fully kicked her off and just did it myself. But yeah, we would travel to Tamworth every single year, go to the country music festival this year will actually be my 31st festival. and yeah, I Becka
started busking, um, there at Tamworth at four years old, um, and would save all that money every year. And then when I turned 16, eventually I had enough money in my bank account to record my very first EAP. And it all sort of started from there.
Rae Leigh: That is insane. So your mum obviously was very passionate about, And you would just immerse into it very, very young. Was there. a point, do you remember when you were like, this is actually what I want? It's not just something that, you know, it's all I know.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, I just I didn't really think about it growing up. I just always wanted to be a singer. like it was just from the very beginning. I've got so many paper clippings of me as a kid, you know, as young as like six and seven. They would ask, what do you want to be when you grow up? And it was always, I want to be, you know, lectionary Twain or the only part, and I want to be a singer.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah. And even in high school, I remember thinking, oh, should I go to university and like have a backup. And I remember saying that to my parents and they were like, don't be silly. You gotta be a singer. So also lucky that I had that, support there. you know, they, weren't the kind of parents that thought music wasn't a real career.
Like I know. a lot of people struggle with, so yeah. I was very lucky to have that support and We literally had hardly any money growing up and, you know, my parents were teenagers when I was born. They would put every, you know, spare cent they had into helping me trace my dreams and my poor brothers and sister had to tag along as well.
Rae Leigh: Oh, wow.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Luckily that was supportive as well.
Rae Leigh: well. done. Mum and dad. We really appreciate parents that do that. Don't we? Because like you said, it's not the most common thing, and it's a hard, a hard thing to encourage your child in because you know, as artists, you get rejected a lot and it's, it's not an easy journey to encourage someone that you love to go through, but it does make you.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Definitely. And, you know, there's been plenty of times where I thought about giving up and I'd have rejections and let downs, and they'd always be there supporting me. And especially my husband, Jesse, we've been together since he was 16. So literally half of our lives, he's always been, you know, in the background, just, you know, encouraging me to keep going and to not give up.
And there's plenty of times where I'm sure he could have. You need to go get a real job, because this is costing us way too much money, but he didn't, you.know, there's been times where he's worked two jobs just so I could chase my dream. And there's times when I'd be over in Nashville for three months at a time we'd be separated.
He'd be back here, you know, working his butt off to help pay for me to be over there and try and credit career. So I've been so, so incredibly lucky. Well, the support I've had from my family and my husband,
Rae Leigh: Wow. You sounds like you've been really blessed with good people in your
Kirsty Lee Akers: I have definitely.
Rae Leigh: you. Yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Must've done something good in a past life.
Rae Leigh: Obviously, obviously. All right. So tell me about, can you remember the first song you ever wrote since this is a songwriting podcast?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh my gosh. The very first song that everybody okay.
I'm trying to think of what would have been the first one, but I know it would have been about some boy at school that I had a crush on it and they didn't like me that they were all the songs I used to write. But, um, I always wrote, you know, little diddies when I was really young, but it wasn't until.Learn how to play acoustic guitar quite well. Around 14 years old, that I really started getting into songwriting because, you know, then I could come up with proper melodies myself and I could then perform them on stage. Um, but the very first sort of proper song that, um, had any sort of, kind of legs. I remember singing. In a songwriting competition that I think I was about 15 years old and ended up winning that songwriting competition and got to record a little track of it. That was my very first time going into a studioand, and doing that kind of thing. So that was really exciting. Um, and I think that song was what was it called? I was like, I need you or something like that. I don't know this little teenage love song.
Rae Leigh: That's beautiful. And I think it's really important when late teenagers do when those sorts of competitions and they get that encouragement and experience like it, it's easier to invest in yourself when someone else has already believed in you and giving you that experience. Um,
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah. A
Rae Leigh: you hadn't done it before. Yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: don't. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know what it's like these days, but I know back then when I was a teenager. Oh, sorry. Lucky. There's so many different platforms, not
online platforms, cause that wasn't really a thing back then, but there are so many avenues, you know, competitions and there was so many at the time country music clubs for me that I would go to different ones every single week. Um, every Wednesday night I do a gig, um, a local gig. It was just a countrymusic, not every single Wednesday night, which was amazing. Got to play an amazing live band. And Yeah. I don't know if young people still have that these days. I'm not sure. Um, but yeah, there was lots of differentavenues. Yeah.I know.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. It's it's a whole new world
Kirsty Lee Akers: they got online platforms too, which we didn't have back then. So I guess
Rae Leigh: do. Now.
You just sing on Tik TOK.
Kirsty Lee Akers: I know.
Rae Leigh: You can be famous overnight. Apparently. That's what I've heard they're doing. Um, I haven't tried that,but
Kirsty Lee Akers: Ah, takecookies. I need to get on to take Toby. I just can't bringmyself to do it yet.
Rae Leigh: I feel like a very much a parent. When I go on Tik TOK, I
Kirsty Lee Akers: Uh, yeah, I'm not even a parent, but I feel you.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Okay. So, um, you wrote a songwas like, and that, that was kind of you're into guitar and stuff like that. What about, I mean, I know this is a hard question. I know. because you've obviously had such a supportive family and people around you, you know, just cheering you on like seriously, we all need cheerleaders like that, but was there a moment for you when you were like, no, this is actually going to be my career, like, and I'm going to actually run my own music business. I'm
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah. I
Rae Leigh: school and
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah. I actually, yeah, I started teaching singing lessons in school. I remember one day, like, I was, I don't know,probably YouTube. I used seven girl knocked on her door and she said, my mom wants to know if you'll give me seen lessons. andI remember thinking, oh, I dunno. I guess then I just started giving her singing lessons and, you know, adding 20 bucks, um, once a week.
Maybe I could yeah. Do this And so, yeah, I started teaching scene lessons back in high school, and then, um, obviously it was doing gigs on the weekends as well, all the time. And, and then I actually opened a full-blown music school. Um, and you know, at one time I had been 60 students. So yeah, it's a very young age, I think from that sort of 15 sorta year old mark, I knew that that was going to be my career, you know, in some way or form, um, and yeah, I've just been so lucky that I've been able to do what I love for a full-time Cree for my whole life.Basically. I've had a couple of doji jobs here andthere that I didn't last very long in, but, um, Yeah.just being really lucky that I've been able to make it full-time career out of it. Um, before COVID.
Rae Leigh: That's beautiful. And do you still have the school? Do you still teach?
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah. still at the music school, but right now with COVID, I can't cause we're locked down where we are. Um, so Yeah.I still had the music school, um, uh, being running that out of the same place now for about the past 10 years. Um, so yeah.it's great to have, you know, at times when you don't have a lot of gigs on or, and I always try and, you know, base my gigs around Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Thursday, Friday, Sunday.So then.Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I can run my music school. I'm so pleased to be pretty busy. Yeah,
Rae Leigh: Yeah, that definitely would keep you really busy. Let's let's go back and talk about your songs. Is there a core message or something that you'd like to always think about, um, when you're writing and releasing a song and you can talk about your new single if you want, but like, what is it that you're wanting the audience to get from this, this music?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Well, it just, it really depends at the time, you know what the song is. I've never been one to really like to force myself, to sit down and write. I hate sort of having to force, you know, creativity, um, which is why I really don't enjoy writing by myself. Cause I feel like.
Necessarily take the time to sit down and just write by myself.
I have to really wait until something pops into my head and then I'll sit down right there and then, and have to have to write it. But one of the things I love about co-writing is not that not so much that you're forced to, but you know, you schedule a time and you sit down and write. Most of the time you come out with a song out of it, which is really good.
So, um, yeah, it just depends at the time what I'm wanting to write about but I definitely think whenever I'm writing a song, you really want, you don't want to be selfish in the fact that, you know, it's just totally about you and that's it of course, there's plenty of those songs I've written, which I never released or anything like that But most of the time when I write, I want to write songs that my fans and supporters are going to really relate to That's one of the things I love about songwriting is I'll get messages
from people. That'll say, you know, I was going through a really hard time and this song of yours really helped me through, you know, like listening to that, a lady messaged me the other day saying. Her husband died, uh, about 12 months ago. And she hasn't listened to any music? since he passed away. But she finally, um, decided to put some music on the other day and it was one of my songs and she said, it just really helped bring her out of the depression she was in. And it's beautiful to get messages like that, to think that, you know, at times when I'm writing sentence songs, I'm feeling that way myself.And then to think that
someone else can hear it and it'll make them feel like, you know, even they're not alone in feeling that way or, yeah, it just helps to really change.
Rae Leigh: that's really good therapy. Isn't it? First music is just so powerful. I don't think I'll ever understand how it fully works. Um, So, yeah. That's how that how has it acted for you in a way
of like, how do you use songwriting and that form? Is it something that you get a lot out of doing it on your own or do you prefer to do it in the co-writing sense?And do you only do that when you've, you know, you're working towards a project, has it worked for you?
Kirsty Lee Akers: it just really depends. You know, I'll, I'll write by myself when I'm really going through something like, you know, if I've lost a loved one or or something like that, then I find it more personal to sit down and just write what I'm feeling. And it is really good therapy. Um, I've always said don't ever do anything wrong by songwriter.Cause you're most likely ended up having a song written about you and you might have to
Rae Leigh: we've all got those.
Kirsty Lee Akers: so, yeah. I do, I do love co-writing. Um,but when it comes to the really personal songs, those ones always start out with me, just sitting down by myself and, you know, I might start running it by myself and not, you know, write a chorus and then I might take it into a songwriting session and go, you know, this is what I've been working on.What do you guys think of this? um, and then we'll go from there. So yeah, just every time it's different, I guess.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Cool. And I saw you've got a few co-writers, um, on your single for love, but what sparked to that one?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, so this, um, this new song, uh, it's just been released for love. And this is a song that I wrote with two guys based over in
Nashville. Uh, Phil Barton and Bruce Wallace. They're two of my favorite songwriters feels actually, I'm going to strain God, but he's lived over in Nashville now for about the past, probably 20 years.
He's been there now and he's going really great over there. And I was actually meant to go to Nash. Last year for a riding chip to run a new album back in April, but obviously COVID hit and that got canceled. So I had to sort of think about what was I going to do for this album? Was I going to actually continue, you know, going ahead and making a new album and was I just going to run it by myself?
Because at the time I couldn't even write with Australian writers either. So I had to really think about that And then, uh, these guys suggested jumping on zoom. They said, you know, over Nashville, they obviously were locked down. And so. Over there. That's their full-time job. You know, they go to work at nine o'clock in the morning clock off at five in the elbow.
That's literally their full-time job. So they had to keep riding and they had to come up with ways to rotten. So everyone was getting on zoom and riding together. And I'd never done that before. At first I thought, oh, I really don't want to do that. It feels really impersonal. And you know, I just don't feel like we're going to come up with anything.Good doing it like that.
I gave it a try and yeah, the very first song that we wrote together, um, it ended up being a really, really great song and it, it wasn't awkward at all and it was a really fun way to do it. And so from there we started riding together every single Tuesday, every Tuesday, we'd do a zoom writings.
Rae Leigh: That's
Kirsty Lee Akers: And before and before we knew it. Yeah.we, we had a bunch of songs and this is one of those that, that came out of that. And this is a song I wrote all about my husband, Jesse. Um, that was the inspiration for me. I'm sure the Gaza wrote it with
Rae Leigh: How does he feel about that?
Kirsty Lee Akers: they weren't thinking about. Just, they'll probably thinking about their loved one.Um, not, and that's the thing, you know, even though I wrote it, um, I was inspired by my, my husband and. Hopefully when
people listen to it, um, you know, they think about their loved one. It doesn't even have to be a love for your husband or your wife or whatever. It could be the, you know, the love between a mother and their child, or I'd love for your parents, your grandparents, anything like that?So, um, Yeah.It's just one of those songs that I think a lot of people can relate to. You know, love is the most amazing emotion in the world. I guess everyone wants to be loved and feel loved. And, um, yeah, hopefully a lot of people can relate to it.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I think it's absolutely beautiful. And with co-writing, what's the best advice you'd have for someone, especially I think during COVID, when it. is hard to travel in and co-write with people, what would you
say the best thing to do in that situation is.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, I think definitely providing, yeah, try out doing it on zoom. And when it comes to career writing, I've always been someone that I hate going into a co-writing, session without.
I hate, you know, going in the room and just ex expecting to rely on the apparatus to have something great. So even if it's not a great idea, always try and have something wherever it's a melody, or, it's just a song title or an idea for a song.
I always want to go into the session, with something and, and sometimes, the other writers will think that's crap and they won't like it at all. And then they'll go, oh, maybe I've got this idea. How do you feel about this idea? And then you go from there. So I think our writings are really great.
And I remember when I very first started out writing the idea of co-writing. I absolutely hated the idea of it I thought, no, I don't want to be giving my thoughts and feelings to other people. That's a really bit strange, but, I sort of got thrown in the deep end with co-writing. Cause back when I was 18, I want to ask someone in
competition called the toaster road to Tamworth. and before that I'd only ever written by myself and the price for that was to fly to Nashville and rot with some of the biggest songwriters in the world, which was just absolutely crazy for me at the time being 18. I'd never even been on a plane before, let alone and not the country. So that was a really big eye opener.And I really got thrown in the deep end. I was riding with people, that I've written, you know, some of the biggest hits in country music, and I had no sort of option, but to sort of just get in there and adapt and, um, Yeah.not be reserved and not hold back and just give it my best. And from there, I just absolutely fell in love with songwriting even more.And especially co-writing.
Rae Leigh: Well done. That would have been so intimidating. Like I couldn't have done that at that age, but I
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, yeah,
Rae Leigh: that age either.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, actually I look back and I think, man, I wish I had the confidence I did back then, because I think that was, I was too young and naive at the time. didn't even realize what a big deal it was.
Rae Leigh: Mm.
Kirsty Lee Akers: remember. Yeah, justgoing to national and thinking, oh yeah, it's cool. You know, this is what happens for every 18 year old.You jump
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
Kirsty Lee Akers: plane, you get to write with the biggest songwriters in the world and you get invited to these amazing events. And I remember at the time getting boughted, um, as a special guest to the ground at Opry and getting to hang out backstage while the artists and I look back now and I think, oh my God, I'm kind of glad I didn't realize what a big deal it was.Cause I would have been probably an anxious mess that happened now.
Rae Leigh: So It was a blessing in disguise.
Kirsty Lee Akers: was a blessing in disguise. I was, you know, young and not even still had all that confidence about me, um,that I, Yeah.I really do sometimes wish I still had that. I think, you know, as you get older and over the years,um, certain setbacks and disappointments that can crush your confidence on dance.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And that happens to everyone, but it's, a learning experience and there is a beauty in the way that as children, we see the world. The optimism that we have. And, um, we all go through, you know, a broken heart and loss and rejection, and it is like, it's it's the first time is always the hardest, but that and then, you know, you've got to get back up on the horse and keep going, and then we fall off again.
It's it's, it is really, really hard. It's like, and I think that's probably why there is such a high turnover in the industry. Like a lot of people don't last longer than a year or two in this industry, because there's so much rejection.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, so
Rae Leigh: So hard, it takes so much courage to get back up and keep going. And like, you've been doing this for so long and you've just kept going through everything you've been through.
Like, that's inspirational. Like that is what tells someone like me, like, well, if she can do it, I'm going to keep doing it. You know? Like, I don't care if I'm not accepted or liked straight away for this particular song, I'm still going to do another one, you know?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, definitely. that's the main thing always keep going. And that's just always been in my head. I've got, You know? I've got this picture of the end goal for me and I just, I can't imagine giving up until, you know?I, I achieved that in, um, I.
Rae Leigh: angle.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, I guess the end goal is just to be at the top of my game, you know, and, um, be as successful as I can making money out of this career that I've put so much of my life into.And, Um,You know, some of my favorite artists, people in Australia, anyway, people like Casey chambers, I just really admire their career and how long they've been doing this. And she started out like me, like busking on the streets of Tamworth. And you know, now she's in the aria hall of fame. all.of those things are definitely dreams of mine.And, and sometimes I feel like, ah, you know, I'm 33 years old. I'm getting too old. I'm not, going to achieve this. And I think that's nothing like that is nothing. I've just been doing it for so long. It feels like I'm getting old, but it's, it's not really at the end of the day. So, um, yeah, you see people
Rae Leigh: It's not old at all.
Kirsty Lee Akers: see people like Keith urban And you know, he's, thesame age as my dad.He's like 55 or something and he's he's still
Rae Leigh: out. Hits.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, he's still doing amazing. I think he didn't have his first break over in Nashville until he was in his thirties. So yeah. It,
Rae Leigh: I think a lot of people have had a lot more success in their thirties. Twenties is sucha, a learning ground, like an, a strength building ground it’s yeah.I don't know. I didn't think I was going to live past my twenties, butYeah,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, tiny, well, yeah, thirties. all the new twenties these days. Cause we're, we're living longer and.
Rae Leigh: It's so true. We party for longer in our twenties and then we get to work in our third. I dunno, I actually don't know what the rules are. I just, um, I actually, I really liked the whole hashtag, um, there's like an ageism thing going around at the moment. I love that because my grandma used to always say that you're as old as you feel.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: she, you know, she's an eighties.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, I love that too. And, um, I think we're a little bit lucky in Australia. I haven't found the ages and thing as strong in Australia, but I definitely know, like all the times that I was in Nashville and I lived over there for about three years, just trying to sort of make a name for myself and looking for a record Dale.
And there'd be so many times where I've made my record labels. You know, I, I was 26 years old and that was like ancient to them. And I'd be like, what?
Rae Leigh: that's crazy.
Kirsty Lee Akers: say, shut away. Like, how old are you? And I'm Like, how old do you want me to be? Because That's how all my,
Rae Leigh: That's so funny. It's just like, yeah. Who cares about age anymore? Because the reality is it doesn't mean you're going to live any longer than the next person next to you
Kirsty Lee Akers: I don't know. and I would never listen to a song. Yeah, I'd never listened to a song and go wonder how old this artist is or not that like it now.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, right.Actually, well, I have heard some songs where the person sounds obviously like, like the 10 or
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah,
Rae Leigh: and they're singing about like the love of their life. And it's like, mm, sounds a little bit, um, you know, Thintech and those are my minutes, but at the same time, I just. I have a lot of respect for anyone who just gives it a go, no matter how old they are, you know, and not just releasing something, but getting up and performing live aswell. It's like,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, yeah. It takes a little courage Todo that.
Rae Leigh: To sing in front of people. Oh yeah. I can't believe you're doing it when you were three. Like just
Kirsty Lee Akers: I know, I guess I just had that, you know, thatchildlike innocence and confidence that I didn't really think about it back then. And I guess growing up in a musical family, I just thought that was normal. You know, I thought everyone's family saying, I didn't realize until I actually started school that no, not everyone's on, these things all the time.At every event, they,
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I think that's
Kirsty Lee Akers: different at the time.
Rae Leigh: but there's so much healing power in singing as well, like for yourself, but also for other people. And it's, I know that it's a very spiritually, you know, thing to say, and there's no real science behind it, but I think there is more and more evidence that singing is a really powerful tool that connects us as human.
Kirsty Lee Akers: it does a hundred percent. I know, like whenever I'm feeling down or whatever, I'll put on some music and just start singing it and it just changes your mood completely. Like it's hard to.
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
Kirsty Lee Akers: It's hard to, to stay sad when you've got like a really happy song alone. And
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: that you love.
Rae Leigh: I've had moments where I've been like really depressed. Like I had bad personal depression after my kids and my husband has put on, let it go from frozen and he's like, sing it, sing it now. And it's like, you cannot sing that song and feel sad. Like it's just impossible.It should be like, everyone has to sing that song before they're given antidepressants. I think that should be like the new medical prescription is
Kirsty Lee Akers: hundred hundred saying I was, yeah. When with the whole lockdown thing, I was going through a bit of a really depressed stage and my husband, he made this playlist for me on YouTube and we'd just play it every morning so that I wouldn't be so sad
Rae Leigh: oh, I love your husband. That's beautiful. That's so nice. Yeah. And that's what we need. People like that for cheerleaders to lift us up when we're down and I'm sure you do that for him too.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, Definitely.
Rae Leigh: yeah. That's awesome. What would you say the best advice is you've ever been given in this instance?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, gosh, that's a, it's an interesting one. I've been given lots of bad advice. I'm trying to think what the best one is. I think. As cliche as it sounds, you know, I've had some great mentors in the music industry, people I've taught with over the years, that especially, um, one person in particular James bundle, uh, he's an amazing country artist.
I talked with him a lot back in my very early days of my career. He was the very first person to take me on tour. Um, so yeah, I'm only about 18 or 19 when I went out on tour with him. And, um, he was just such a, a great supporter of my music. He'd always tell me how great it was that, you know, I wasn't sort of that pushover artists that was happy to just do whatever I was told by my record label at the time, and, you know, sing songs that I wasn't happy to sing.
And he really loves that. You know, I believed in my talent as a songwriter and what always encouraged me to sing my own songs cause. I'm a very first album. I only had one of my songs on that album and he said to me, why haven't you got more of your songs on here? You're amazing somewhere. Cause he'd been co-writing with me at the time too.
And I said, oh, you know, my record label didn't think those songs were good enough. And you know, he said, well, you know, you need to believe in yourself and. I know you're talented and, and he, Yeah.
he was always a really big encouragement. So I think from there, I've always sort of been head strong now and really stood by what I believe in.
And I think that's a big reason why my husband and I am a manager we've just started our own record label. It's called rider reco. We really, Yeah.
We've always wanted to have our own record label. Um, especially for me as an artist, just having that freedom to be able to do what I want and, and know that the money that's going into it is, is ours.And we're backing ourselves a hundred percent. So yeah.this, this label.
Obviously, I'm going to be the first artist signed to it. And hopefully we have a little bit at 60 next with this new album, then we can look at signing other artists. But the reason we actually called it write a records is because an artists rider is, you know, all the things that cater to them and help them put on an amazing show. And we really wanted ally able to represent that. And you know, the artists that we signed inthe future, we hope that where that. Support base for them. And even though, you know, we're going to be there label,we, we will just be there as a support base. And, you know, we're obviously going to give our advice on what we,think they should do, but at the end of the day, we want them to be happy with the songs, every call andhappy with what they release out into the world.
Rae Leigh: Wow. It sounds like you've really stepped up into your empowerment as, as an artist, you know? And, um, I think that's, that's amazing. And James Glendale is a huge, huge supporterof me in the show. And he
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, that's all.
Rae Leigh: EAP launchand like, I didn't even know who he was when I met him And he took it really well,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh,
Rae Leigh: you know, says so much about his
Kirsty Lee Akers: humble guy. He's scared. He's amazing
Rae Leigh: Yeah. no, I'm, I'm excited. And, um, we're putting on a Christmas show to celebrate somewhere. I trust this year and he's going to come along and play.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, that's amazing. Small world. Hey.
Rae Leigh: It is a small world, but I think it's a beautiful thing to have people like him who encouraged, like he's just been around for so long.And some, sometimes it can be easy to build a an ego and an attitude, I guess when you've worked really, really hard.And yet he's still, like you said, humble, but so encouraging. And I think we just need to continue to encourage each other. Um, and people who are just starting out cause it like, like we've both experienced, there is a lot of rejection and, you know, Someone to encourage you and to have that is just yeah.
I'm really glad that you had him when, when you did. Cause it sounded like it was a real pivotal point.
Kirsty Lee Akers: he was amazing guy. You know, at one point in, the nineties, he was the biggest star in Australia. You know, he was one of the very first artists to get signed over in Nashville way before Keith urban. Um, yeah, he doesn't have any ego at all. You know, at one point he was the face of McDonald's and.on so
Rae Leigh: I did not know that.
Kirsty Lee Akers: can use to dig your health to look on the YouTube. It's pretty funny. He used to do
Rae Leigh: I mean, it was a very cute face.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yes, I've had, I've had, uh, bill Hartsville,James, uh, early James over the years. I always telling that to you to make himembarrassed.
Rae Leigh: Oh, that's
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah, he was the person away from McDonald's back in the day, doing the big Mac ad. So you have to watch it. It's pretty.
Rae Leigh: I'm going to have to go. If someone did pull out like, uh, I was doing a show with Adam Brown in, in Tazzy and the girl I was staying with pulled out this old video cassette of James Blondeau as like, as a young. And I was like, this is too funny. We have to watch this. But anyway,
Kirsty Lee Akers: funny.
Rae Leigh: uh, anyway, back to you.Gosh, what else?Oh, I was going to say, so if you could go back and talk, and this is, um, to, I guess, encourage those younger people who are just starting out. so You could go back in time and talk to yourself when you were maybe the teenager or,
you know, that point in your life where you're deciding whether you're going to keep doing music or not. If you give yourself one piece of advice, what would yousay?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, My biggest piece of advice is to never give up and to tell my younger self that there's so many amazing things coming my way and just to keep at it, um, and believing yourself. Yeah, you've got to believe in yourself the most, because no, one's going to believe in you
more than What, you do. So if you don't believe in yourself, it's going to be hard for other people to do also. So, um, yeah, that's the big one is it might sound cliche, but literally you just have to never give up and just keep going until you achieve those dreams.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, I love that. and I think the same goes for loving yourself as well,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, definitely.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. That's beautiful. What, what is like the, your highlight of your career so far? Cause it's been quite a long journey. What would you say was one of the best moments that for you you'll always remember.
Kirsty Lee Akers: I think probably my. Greatest probably memories, probably winning my very first golden guitar. I'm going to Tim west every single year. We couldn't afford to go to the awards, but we listened to them on the radio and then they'd air on TV and I tape it on VHS and watch it back every afternoon after school.
And I would see people like James Lindell and Adam brand that you mentioned, you know, getting awards, getting gone guitars. And I would just absolutely dream of one day being up there and accepting my own golden guitar as well. And I remember that very first. When they called out my name, it was just incredible.Um, you know, I just thought about my parents and their dreams they had for me and my grandparents, that he loved country music too.
And, um, yeah, just to feel how proud they would have been as well to see me up there. AndYeah.it's just something that I'll never forget.
Rae Leigh: Yeah, that would have been so overwhelmingly,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: just incredible to achieve a dream like that, that you'd had such a long time.
Ah, tingles. That's so cool. Okay. This is the big question now. It's what I like to finish on. If you could co-write with anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and why?
Kirsty Lee Akers: a hundred percent Dolly Parton. Um, I I would have to be her biggest fan in the whole wideworld. It's a bit ridiculous. Actually. How much of a fan? I think I of Delhi.
Um, I just think she's so incredibly talented. Um, she, so such an amazing business woman, she's written so many amazing songs, so, so many amazing songs, songs, some songs that people would have never even heard of.
Um, cause they haven't been singles or whatever. They've just been album tracks, but they're just amazing songs in themselves. And I just think she would have. A lot of words of wisdom sitting in a room with her would be just incredible. I say, I'd love her out with her, but I know if the, if it ever came up, I would just, I would be just sitting there crying and I wouldn't have any changes coming up with anything. But if I could take a few sedatives or something beforehand, I might be all right.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Yeah. They do say not to meet your heroes, but, um, yeah, she definitely like comes across to me is just like a, a mum kind of character. Just someone who, you know, would give you the best advice and support and encouragement and you could just trust her
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: she says. Um, so yeah. That's awesome. Cool. So what have you got happening at the moment? What can people be expecting from you?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yes, I've just released the new single and the music video for that. And of course my, my husband, Jesse and I are on the TV show the block at the moment. so we're still got um, I think it's probably. Five weeks left of that. And then the auction happens in November. Um, and then from there I'm actually gonna, well, COVID, doesn't play, play things up again.
Um, heading out in Australia wide tour. So we're getting ready to announce tour dates for that. So the first show for that will be in January at the time of country music festival on the 22nd, that'll be the first show of the tour that kicks it off. And then hopefully next year. Yeah.we'll be getting to as many towns as possible.It's going to be actually. Doing gigs again. Cause I think I've had like two gigs in 18 months. It's been ridiculous. Um, the amount of times,
Rae Leigh: cancellations.
Kirsty Lee Akers: so many cancellations.And then, you know, I was meant to be in Queensland this weekend, just gone, but even though Queensland's open new south Wales isn't so we can't get in. Um, it's just been so hard. Um, so yeah, fingers crossed next year. There'll be that many shows. I'll become plaining that I need a day off.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. And look, hopefully that is kind of what happens, but it is, it's been a journey for everyone, I think for the last two years to get used to the disappointment of things being canceled,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, a hundred
Rae Leigh: and just work out a way to keep positive and just keep
going because after a while it's exhausting, isn't it just, yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Ah, so exhausting. Yeah.
Rae Leigh: And most emotionally, like, even though it's you locked down, you can't do anything. It's emotionally exhausting because it's something that, you know, we work towards and we were passionate about, and we're not allowed to do anything more than what we can do from home.
So what I'm for keeping through that, and I'm glad you've got a good husband and, and support around you during that time as well. Just like I have,and yeah, we need it.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah, we're very lucky.
Rae Leigh: Tell me, I actually, uh, my husband said you were on the block. I don't watch TV, so I didn't know. But, um, tell me, tell me what like, what was that, how did that come about and has that experience been
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah. well, Jesse and I have been big fans of the show for a long time. we, actually first applied back in 2012 and we've been trying to get on the show ever since basically, um, where we, we enjoy renovating. Well, I did enjoy renovating before we did this show.
Rae Leigh: Oh really?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Well, the block is just, it's just so hectic life.
It just doesn't do it. Justice on TV, how hard it is. But yeah, so we used to, we started out renovating when we were 18 years old, we bought our firsthouse and our friends and family would always say to us, you guys need to go on the block. You know, you're funny to watch and you guys are good at renovating.so we applied and
Rae Leigh: know if that's a compliment or not.
Kirsty Lee Akers: I don't know how to, I think it's good. I
always post stuff on online of me just ripping off Jesse, basically.
Rae Leigh: That's so funny. Okay.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yes. So, yeah, we've just been applying and the last three years in a row, we applied, um, we almost made it on the show last year. We made the shortlist and went through all the costume process and, um, but didn't make it the final cut, which was a bit devastating. So Yeah.we thought let's give it one more. Try. And Yeah.luckily we finally made it on and it's just one of those opportunities. That's a once in a lifetime thing, you know, last year that I think the people that came last, they won over half a million dollars. So, um,
Rae Leigh: Oh, wow.
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah.so it's just one of those amazing once in a lifetime opportunities that only very few people get to experience.We've been one of the lucky chosen few. And one of the things I love about the show is that it hasn't just introduced a new audience to my music, but it's introduced, um, a new
audience just to country music in general, that this show is viewed by over a million people four nights a week. And before we were on the show, they'd be lucky to have.
One country song the whole season. And most of the time, if they ever played a country song would be to take the Mickey out of, you know,
I don't know, hillbillies or whatever, but now every, every single night the shows on whenever it's our segments, they've always got some amazing country song playing in the background.You know, we're watching the other night and it was one of our segments and they had Dwight Yoakam on and I was like, oh my God, do I go to him? It's like all time favorite. I would have died watching this as they had an Dwight Yoakam someone in the past. so I just loved that It's introducing so many new audiences to country music.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. I feel like that's actually happening more and more. And the more country music is being integrated with a guest pop and iron bay and all these different artists that are coming out. It is exposing country music to a whole new generation. Um,and I love seeing young people that love country.
Kirsty Lee Akers: It's crazy. Just, you know, you go to festivals like the CMC festival and, well, we did go to festivals,not that long ago.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: when you just see how popular they are and lots of more young people are coming. And I went and saw Shania Twain. Um, what would have been two years ago now? Because it was just before COVID hit and I just couldn't believe how many young
girls are there and, and, you know, they probably weren't even born when she was at the height of her career.So yeah, it's really great.
Rae Leigh: Uh, I think it's amazing too, to see country music getting such a good rep now. And yeah, I love seeing young people who are into country. Like I used to be like that whole, oh, like what? You know, when people say, what music do you listen to? I'd be like, oh, like a bit of country, you know, like,
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah,
Rae Leigh: it would be, it'd be really nice.So I was like, oh, I like country too. And then all of a sudden, my best friends, because we both like countries, but now, but now it's like, I'll wait my country boots to like the grocery store.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: And, um, you know, like I wear them everywhere and people actually comment on them now. And it's like, you know, I'm very loud and proud about my country loving life.Um, I actually, I, I randomly run into Brooke Chevelle cause Brooksville and that like, they don't live far from me and I run into him at Kohl's. We're both checking out at thesame time and he's like country boots at Kohl's. Nice. I'm like, yeah.
Kirsty Lee Akers: How funny.
Rae Leigh: Uh, it's funny, but it is, it's nice to like, not have to be ashamed of liking country music.And if that's the way that I
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah. well, where the, where are the same, and it's funny watching the show, you get lots of trolls online. Um, it's funny. to watch, and I'm saying people comment like I'm sick of this couple, pretending that they're hillbillies and putting on the country thing. I'm like, you've got no idea. You've got no idea.
Rae Leigh: yeah, And then they'll like, maybe look at you. Yeah, but that happens in country as well. And like, don't, don't even that haters are gonna hate, you know, you're doing you. And I think it's amazing and think about all the little girls out there that you're giving permission to, to, love country as well. And you're inspiring, And that is just worth dealing with the loose trolls.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Oh, definitely. Every, every single room reveal we've done. we've tried to include a little bit of country music. So we did like a kid's bedroom last week. And all the books that we had on the bookshelf were like Dolly Parton and country music, legends, like her coat of many colors kids book.
Rae Leigh: that's awesome. Well done. Um, I'm really glad that you're doing that. That's I'll have to go watch it now
Kirsty Lee Akers: yeah.
Rae Leigh: just because you're on there but yeah, no, thank you so much. The podcast is yours. Is thereanything else you would like to say before we finish up?
Kirsty Lee Akers: Just thank you for having me and for people out there listening. If you want to check out my music, you can, you can jump on my website, which is just Castilleja cars.com, where you can check me out on Instagram and Facebook or YouTube., yeah. And fingers crossed. I see out there, somewhere on the road next year.
Rae Leigh: Awesome. Well, I will be there wherever I can. Um, and I'll put your links into all your socials and your music and YouTube and everything into the, um, the description of the podcast. And it will also be on songwriter, trees.com as a personal blog page. So yeah, I'm looking forward to sharing it and good luck with the rest of the show and, yeah.Good luck withtouring next year. I'm sure it's all going to go ahead. We can't be locked down
Kirsty Lee Akers: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Um, so. No, I'm, I'm looking forward to hearing some more of your new music and, um, yeah, just keep going.
Kirsty Lee Akers: Thanks so much. you. too.
Rae Leigh: Thank you. Bye. All right. That's all done.
