Meet Trailblazer Katie Rose Nelson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Rose Nelson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Katie Rose. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I began as a writer and have been writing since I was a young kid – around six is my earliest memory of writing (or trying to write) a poem. Growing up, I was always surrounded by music. Though my Mom played some piano, and my first guitar was my Dad’s Harmony, with a popsicle-stick bridge he made, my parents weren’t musicians themselves but big music lovers. It would be waking up in the morning to the sounds of my Mom listening to Hank Williams, The Beatles, or Neil Young records. Road tripping with Don Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, all of the great country songwriters and musicians. My older sister was also an influence on me as she was listening to punk and alternative music of the ’90s. It was her copy of Bob Dylan that I took for myself to listen to over and over until I went to the local music store to roam the shelves and find what it was I wanted to be listening to. Being drawn to music of all kinds, the Blues, Funk, Mo-Town, Folk of the ’60s, the music of Laurel Canyon in the ’70s, Punk music of the ’70s, all of it. Listening to and learning things about life in the context of those songs. Songs that I look back to now as having been a compass and comfort to me and my life as a kid growing up in Utah. Though I went through school with the thought I would be writing collections of poetry, I was always fumbling around on my Dad’s Harmony.

It wasn’t until I met Dustin, my partner, who encouraged me to learn more on the guitar and to write my own songs, that I actually discovered music and songwriting was what I wanted to do. Dustin and I moved to Colorado in January of 2010 and though we would jam and sing together, Dustin was in different music projects and I was writing songs and keeping them to myself for the most part. It wasn’t until 2013 that we decided we would start performing out together and in September of that year we released our first EP ‘Many Mountains’. In 2014, we got a band together and started performing as Many Mountains playing whenever and where ever we could and we are still doing that now as a duo. Bringing music to the people, young and old. I love performing live and connecting to and meeting people from all walks of life. It’s been the most fulfilling experience and I am so grateful I am able to do it.

Has it been a smooth road?
A phrase I always like to keep in mind is ‘constant state of Becoming’. There are always hairpin turns that make you dizzy and roadblocks that force a detour, breakdowns that leave you feeling stranded.

Playing to empty rooms, not getting responses from emails sent out, getting rejections from emails sent out, people rolling their eyes at you, not believing in you, making blind judgments about you and straight-up discouraging you, trying to dim your light. Negativity is prevalent in all directions when you’re following your bliss. But that’s how the story goes right? You decide to enter into the forest on your own path, forging your own way, and you don’t know what’s out there. You don’t know what you’ll come across along the way. What you find is the mystery and there you can find yourself. It’s in those dark and scary moments you learn the most about yourself and what you’re capable of. Listen to your heart and intuition and learn from your mistakes but know too that you’re not alone. That there ARE people in your corner who want to support you and be there for you. People who will be moved and affected by what it is you’re doing. When you meet those people, they will help to develop your meaning and drive, even the critics will help give clarity to your purpose. Keep moving forward and take stock of your achievements. Each day brings new opportunity and you can get yourself closer to where it is you want to be.

We’d love to hear more about Many Mountains.
It’s really something special to connect with others through music. Music is the first language and it allows us to fully immerse in our feelings – whatever they are. All of art is that connection, really. It’s opening yourself up to empathy and discovering a oneness. I write songs that come out of my experience and observations, with the hope that others can hear themselves in the songs in one way or another. Dustin and I write our songs separately and bring them to one another to help develop them musically and it’s always inspiring to hear his perspective on life. We come from different backgrounds and have personal struggles we’ve had to overcome – to relate that in a song is a blessing and a challenge but it’s our combination of songwriting styles and musicality that separate us from other folk-rock/Americana bands. That is what is so beautiful about art – seeing things from different angles so we can puzzle intangible things together. It fills me with love and happiness when a stranger tells me a song of mine meant something special to them, whatever it may relate to in their lives.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
The culture of interaction in music and around the scene can be difficult barriers to break. It’s taken time for me to be heard or taken seriously as a musician, whether it be from a sound engineer at a venue or in correspondence with bookers, most of whom are male. For them to realize, I know what I want and I know what I’m talking about. We are in a powerful time where more and more women are being recognized for their talents and ambition, locally and nationally, in the music scene. Hearing their words and experiencing their passion will encourage more to believe in themselves, make moves to lead their peers and the next generation to do great things.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.manymountainsmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manymountainsmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katierosedustinmoranmusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/manymountains1
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xMjv6HAXOZAIiuP1uKt5A

Image Credit:
KT Langley Photography, Flat Nine Design, Nikki A. Rae Photography, Nathan Lopez Photography, Miguel Zavala

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.