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Former Ponoka musician a rising star

New single out, which is seeing play on local radio stations
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Central Alberta resident Kayla Williams launched the start of her solo recording career just about six weeks ago with the song One More Dose. Photo submitted

Being a musician has never been a question for a Ponoka native, who recently released her first single.

Kayla Williams, daughter of Dave and Sharon who still reside in Ponoka, launched the start of her solo recording career just about six weeks ago with the song One More Dose.

“It was awesome to have a single produced and I was lucky I got to do it,” she said.

Williams has had a number of different projects on the go recently, including being part of a comedy duo the past six years, but turned her attention back to song writing last year. Work on the single began in April, with the producer she worked with picking what is her newest piece.

“The song is about a recent break up and what follows when you keep getting drawn back in and things don’t really change,” she explained.

“It was all pretty fresh and intense when I was recording it, so I’m very proud of how it came out. It’s really a pop song along the lines of what was done in the 1980s, a style of music I really love, so it’s exactly what I wanted.”

Williams has always focused on music, taking lessons and performing in musicals as a kid in Ponoka, followed by obtaining a diploma from Red Deer College in music. While it’s been scary trying to pursue a music career, something few of her fellow college grads are still doing, Williams wouldn’t change a thing.

“You have to love doing it and have the talent, but also that unwavering self confidence,” she stated.

“It’s funny how it goes, I was told in high school music wouldn’t be viable or realistic, but I always knew music was my path to follow. Fortunately, my parents kept telling me to believe and go pursue my passion.”

The song, along with the video, has received a positive response including a sold out show in Red Deer and more than 10,000 YouTube views in the past month.

That response, which she said has been insane to date, led to something Williams never thought would ever happen — the song has made it onto a local radio station.

“Through some hard work and good luck, I was able to have Big 105 play it and also I did a Facebook Live hit with them during the release party,” Williams said.

“The song has been so popular, it has been placed into the station’s regular rotation, something you just don’t see normally from a corporation station. It’s tricky to get a single played on that kind of station without having an album.”

Local support, through a lot of requests, is a big reason the station is promoting the song and that support is what makes Williams believe so strongly in her song.

“Most stations have a no-repeat rule and CKUA won’t even play it since there are no other songs to go with it,” she said.

“It will help when I can record more and do some shows around Alberta, which is my next exciting adventure.”

Williams knows it could be as long as a year before a full album may be completed, given the amount of money it will take to finance. However, she hopes to work on learning more about producing songs in studio plus looking for grant money to get an album done sooner rather than later.

To take a listen to the single or see more of Williams work, check out her website at www.kaylawilliams.com where there are links to follow her on iTunes or look at her YouTube site.