SHE’S BACK at the W for a great night of rockin LIVE country music on the big stage! Grab those tickets & tables NOW… CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire—and with New Smoke Show, country artist Kimberly Dunn is ready to ignite
The 11-track album, produced by Grammy Award winner Chad Carlson (Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood), should mark Dunn’s explosion into mainstream music, after several years of burning up the charts in her native Texas.
“Forever on the Run, my first full-length record, was a road map of where I’ve been and who I was when those songs were written. I would say the new music is definitely the direction I’m going in,” Dunn says. “It’s all about the live show and all about having fun with the audience. I want to make sure that we keep the energy up so everyone has the potential to have as much fun as possible at my show!”
Her attitude is summed up in “Stand on It,” the album’s third track.
“I don’t walk the line, I dance on it,” Dunn sings. “I don’t fit in a box. … I stand on it.”
The album defiantly shows off all of Dunn’s various musical influences — country, pop and rock ‘n’ roll.
“What I’ve learned over time that I have to be true to myself, and in being true to myself, I have to pay attention to all of the music I grew up listening to — rock ‘n’ roll, pop, classic country, bluegrass…a little bit of everything!”
“In the very beginning of my career I felt like I had to stay in a more traditional country mindset. That’s what Forever on the Run is. I love it and it has a really special place in my heart. But New Smoke Show is definitely more me than I ever have been on a recording,” Dunn says.
The singer-songwriter has matured from the young woman in her first smash hit “Randy Rogers” who tried to find harmony between a heart broken by an ex-boyfriend and a heart that soared to the sounds of the Texas Country songs to which he introduced her.
But staying locked into one style of music didn’t completely satisfy Dunn — even at the risk of being called a sell-out.
“You know what, I’m not worried. I was at the very beginning, when I thought that I had to be more traditional, ya know? I have to wear boots on stage every night, I have to wear denim,” Dunn says. “The more rules I put on myself, the more I found that it hindered my creativity. Being worried about what other people think can consume you and the whole record New Smoke Show is about being yourself and doing what you want to do. Feeling good about standing outside of the box and just having a good time with who you are and finding yourself.”
“I’m on my journey of finding myself and the more I face my fears, the more I learn about myself and find new avenues of making other people happy,” she continues. “All I want to do is give back. The more successful I can be, the more I can give back to my fans.”