NYCS Swag Spotlight: Stephanie Quayle
Ahead of our Babes Booze & Brunch event this Sunday we are excited to share with you our Swag Spotlight with Stephanie Quayle who will be performing a live set at the event. Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana Quayle truly lived the life of a country kid. She lived on her family’s farm, her stepfather was a veterinarian and she grew up around tons of animals, especially on horses since she was a very young girl. Her grandmother who taught piano taught her how to play when she was only four years old, and she recalls music always being a part of her life. “In our barn, we had this little silver AM radio that would always play country music, and for me, there was no place I would rather be that in that barn with my horse listening to country music,” she tells us. She explains that growing up her mother would listen to Joni Mitchell as well as the country greats, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and George Strait while her father brought out the rock n roll influences with Led Zeppelin.
She recalls writing poetry and nourishing her creative side by writing music when she was twelve years old but picked up a guitar when she was fifteen. After a rough 9th grade dealing with bullying and hazing, Quayle took part in an exchange program in Switzerland and her after-school program included being the lead singer of a band and touring the country. “It was such an exciting time, it was all brand new and getting up on stage, that is when I knew this would be my life,” she explains. “I didn’t know how, or what the next steps would be but this is where I make the most sense, so whatever I had to do to so this could be my career was what I was going to figure out.”
She ultimately made the move to Nashville eight years ago and has been throwing her self into her music since that first opportunity in Switzerland. She is now making music that she loves, with people who she adores and loves being able to connect with her fans. “How do I create more soundtracks to their moments, we all have those songs that tie us to a moment, a place, a feeling an emotion there is so much that music provides and I love being the landscape,” she says is her goal with her career.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT
Not only was she one of the artists named by Karen Fairchild at last year’s CMT Artist of the Year, but she was also inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2019. “Ever since I learned of the program when they started it, I always wanted to earn my spot and earn the respect of my peers and know that I am worthy of that title and continue to pay it forward to other artists and shed light on extraordinary women,” she says. Quayle tells us that every time she has an opportunity like this or when she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage, she feels a responsibility to push herself and to exceed her expectations. “I have earned every step and I take it very seriously, there are so many people that work tirelessly to make sure that my voice is heard, it’s not just about me, it is my job, it employees people, we have the coolest job in the world, we get to live our lives through music but it’s also a business.”
Her latest single which was released last month, “If I Was A Cowboy” was written by what Quayle calls the “trifecta of super awesome”, Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, and Nicolle Gaylon. “I am a Western kid from Montana, I’ve been on the back of a horse since I was a teeny tiny human,” she laughs. “I have always wanted to be a cowboy, I grew up with cowboys with that cowboy strength, when I heard this song, I knew it was made for me and I don’t mean that arrogantly, it is just so honest to who I am, where I’ve been and what I’ve felt.” She wanted the production to really honor her roots and reflect on the times when she stayed in a situation too long, knowing it was wrong or when she let her emotions linger in a bad place, wishing she was a cowboy and having the strength to move on faster.
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