By: Sadie Christine
Rising star Karly Kryski is making her mark as one of Canada’s newest country stars. We caught up with her to discuss all things music, fashion, and the role being Canadian has on her artistry and songwriting.
Earlier in the year, Karly made her Whiskey Jam debut at Dierks Bentley’s bar on Broadway, Whiskey Row. When asked how that experience was playing that show, Karly shared, “That was such a surreal experience. It was my first time playing in Nashville, and the venue is right on Broadway at Dierks Bentley’s bar, so that was honestly a dream come true, and being down there for that trip. I sang five of my own original songs and it was cool to be able to share my own music with the Nashville crowd and have a full band. Also knowing the other people who stepped on that stage and performed there earlier on in their career was like, woah. Overall super cool.”
Karly is gearing up to release her newest single, “Happy Hour After You,” on June 5th, which is an upbeat, fun summer song made for singing along in the bars. Karly shared that she wrote this song a year ago and now, with summer coming up, it is the perfect time, adding, “This song is about getting your spark back after a relationship ends and seeing you’re actually better off on the other side.” Karly tells us that “Happy Hour After You” was written in Nashville with co-writer Chris, and they worked together to make a song with an uplifting summer energy vibe. “I wanted to give that feeling of happiness and the feeling of summer bliss and freedom not only lyrically but musically as well. That was a big part of the process, and then coming together with personal references. Once we had that done, I gave it to our producer and that was the process!”
Ahead of the release of “Happy Hour After You,” Karly released “Rolling Dice” in February. When asked about the writing process for that song, Karly explained, “I wanted to write about that tumultuous, back-and-forth, chaotic, not good for your relationship, but you still want it anyway. I was trying to think how I could put a play on words with that idea, and then Rolling Dice came out of that. The idea that you’re taking a gamble ’cause you know this guy is kind of sus, but you’re still taking that gamble anyways. You just can’t help yourself and you both keep coming back to each other. I’m happy with how that turned out.”
Female country artists are dominating the charts right now, with one of them being Ella Langley, who Karly is very inspired by, adding, “How can you not be after seeing all the amazing things she is doing” in her career.
Getting to play around with fashion and style is important in the creative process, so we wanted to ask Karly about her signature style and if she has a favourite piece in her wardrobe she feels is authentic to her artistry. Karly notes, “Yeah! I performed the other weekend in a matching cream khaki-coloured jean top and jean bell bottoms. Similar to a Lainey Wilson vibe with a cowboy design and the stitching. Anything that’s matching is cute and super comfortable on stage.”
Karly is one of the newest faces to hit the Canadian country music scene, and when asked how being Canadian influences her music, Karly shared, “Here in Canada, there is a different sound sometimes when it comes to country, I’ve noticed.” She explains how growing up she would listen to both Canadian and American artists on the radio, which influenced her. Adding, “I grew up in the city here in Vancouver, so a lot of my influences growing up was what I’ve seen in the media. It all influences each other.”
Ending off, we asked Karly what song in her discography resonates the most with her today in our signature question, “What is your era?”
Karly shares, “That’s a tough call, but yeah, today I’m gonna have to go with my song ‘Rhinestones and Rust.’ It’s a song about me being a little bit country but also a little bit city at the same time. I feel like it’s an upbeat, powerful kind of headbang song, and the weather today is really nice and just feeling overall in a good mood, so I’m gonna go with that song!”
With “Happy Hour After You” being a summer track, it will definitely be added to our summer playlists ASAP! Given the vibe of the song, we asked Karly who her favourite summer artists are to play in the summer months, and she mentioned Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Billy Currington because of their timeless summer classics and bops, and we definitely agree!
Thank you to Karly Kryski for the wonderful conversation! Make sure to stay up to date with her on all her socials!
Stay Wild, Stay Authentic, Stay Country
