Right on the heels of a new record out this year, singer Kalsey Kulyk hits the main stage Aug. 31 as part of this year’s World Chuckwagon Finals entertainment.
“I was raised on country music. My grandfather sang country — he would sing me Willy Nelson songs, Loretta Lynn songs, and Dolly Parton songs. My mom loved to sing as well. There are these videos of me as a baby just being mesmerized by my mom. So yes, I really have loved music from a very young age.”
It’s no surprise then that Kulyk, who hails from Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, started singing at the age of three.
And it was no small feat — her first audience was around 500 people.
“It was in Hudson Bay. Mom put on a talent show, and she thinking about who she was going to have there.”
Her grandpa suggested that Kulyk sing a song, and at first her mom said her girl was a bit too young to do so.
But she eventually changed her mind, Kulyk performed, and essentially, a path in life was starting to take shape.
“I caught the bug, and have loved it ever since.”
During weekends through her school years, and during her summers, she would travel around Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta performing at fairs and taking part in singing competitions.
She even started writing songs at just 13 which is when she also landed her first guitar.
At 17, she was starting to think about career plans — and then Kulyk was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent several months of chemotherapy treatment.
“I realized that what is life unless you are doing what you love every single day. That’s when I decided I was going to follow my dreams, not quit, and never look back,” she said.
Inspiration for songs can surface at any time.
“I’ll have a phrase come to me — someone I know has maybe gone through something, and it will bring about a feeling for me. So I’ll start writing. It’s kind of different every time.
“Or if I’m writing with someone else, and they are playing something, I’ll just start singing. It really depends. Sometimes it’s a phrase, sometimes a melody, and sometimes it’s a guitar chord or pattern.”’
For Kulyk, it’s all a dream come true.
“I love every part of the musical experience. I love being on the road, I love recording, and I love writing. Producing is so cool, too, because you get to be a part of creating the words and the melodies, and then hear what comes around it.”
There are times when songs don’t come together as planned, and other times when a song will exceed expectations.
“Love Me Like an Outlaw (from her latest project Outlaw Poetry) turned out exactly how I hoped it would be. It’s a really rewarding process when that happens.”
Meanwhile, what keeps fueling her passion in her artistic journey?
“I would have to say the fans. And the stories they tell me about how my music has helped them,” she said, referring specifically to Heaven, Are You Listening, which has surpassed 300,000 views on Youtube.
“I really hope people would feel the emotion of that song,” she said.
“I want them to know they are not alone. If they have ever felt like they aren’t being heard, or they are feeling down, that song could give them a voice and a feeling that someone else has gone through this, too. And you will get through it as well.
“That’s what gets me through — to know I’m helping people through certain moments of their lives. That’s what I love about music, and that’s why I do it.”
For tickets to Kalsey Kulyk’s concert, head to ponokastampede.com.
