Kendra McKinley
Kendra McKinley’s songs burst with color, wonder, sensuality and wit. Finger painting with the sounds of chamber pop, jazz, soul and psychedelia, McKinley draws from a deep well of empathy. Whether she’s performing solo with a guitar and a looping pedal, fronting a full funk band, or collaborating with artists both local and around the globe, McKinley’s confident, honeyed voice enacts a gravitational pull on all who hear it.
“I have an urgency to create, and an urgency to share. And so I’ve built a life of music making and performance. The landscape of my imagination is one of vivid flowers, velvet textures, melancholy and wit. I use curvaceous melodies, succulent harmonies, and animated movement to uplift, inspire, and articulate what is seemingly intangible but universally felt. When asked what genre I play, I respond with “sensual and colorful”. For me, music is color, and performance is physical. Every song has it’s own shape and color scheme.
”To be a woman in music is to be a woman in the world: in a constant tug-of-war with our own liberation against societal limitations. With each performance comes an opportunity to remind the whole of humanity that we all live on a spectrum. That we flourish in our softness, and command with our depth. It is my hope that through my work I can remind all humans, but especially women, that our vulnerability, rage, and curiosities deserve an outlet. That there is empowerment in transforming the uncomfortable into beauty.”
