Although she’s still only 19 years old, singer/songwriter Kanin Wren wants to be a role model for younger kids.
Already known for her popular touring Taylor Swift Experience—where she covers many of the megastar’s biggest hits, while performing a few songs of her own—the rising Michigan-based pop star surprise-released her debut studio album, Wren, back in late June.
The eight-song record marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in her career, as she shifts in a more pop-oriented direction with her music, including developing a new tribute show featuring songs by some of her other influences including Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, and more.
This fall she is also starting her first semester at the University of Michigan, where she will study music, after taking a gap year off to tour and record her album since graduating from high school in her small town of DeWitt, Michigan, last year.
“It’s just been my dream school,” Wren said about attending U of M. “When I was younger, I had some troubles with learning at school. I have a learning disability, so that made things a little bit hard for me when going through elementary school, middle school, high school. And by the time I did get to middle school and high school, I kind of started to figure out my study habits, which was very much a turning point in my academic career, because my grades weren’t always fantastic.
“At the beginning of middle school, or in elementary school, I used to spend hours at the dining room table with my dad at night, just trying to figure out my homework. And music was something that I turned to as a creative outlet, as a release because if I wasn’t good at something at school, I was good at music.”
A natural talent from a very young age, Wren had dreams of playing stadiums when she was six years old, and by nine years old she had already released her first song.
“When I was younger, I would record a cover every week, and I brought those CDs into my teachers because I wanted them to know that I was good at something, even if I wasn’t good at math or science or reading,” Wren said.
Her musical gifts soon found her onstage. She started performing locally at around 12 or 13, and by 16 or 17 she was on tour, learning not only her subjects in school, but how to juggle her concert schedule with her class schedule.
“I know college is definitely different, but I’m still very excited to be able to perform on weekends, or when I have a break from school,” she said. “And obviously during the summers, because summer is our busiest season. I’m very excited about going off to school, and being able to study music, but I’m also very excited that I get to continue performing, because performing is something that I would never want to give up.”
Performing played a huge part in Wren deciding to take a gap year after high school. With her Taylor Swift Experience, she’s played in over 15 different states, having just wrapped another run down the East Coast at the end of the summer.
“There are a lot of little girls on the East Coast now that will come to multiple shows, which is really exciting because every once in a while, I’ll get a little girl that knows all the words to my songs in the crowd,” Wren said. “And I absolutely love that. It’s just a little bit of a dream come true for me to have somebody in the audience that has taken the time to memorize my lyrics, not only the Taylor Swift lyrics.”
Wren said she probably knows about 50 of Swift’s songs at this point, and continues to want to learn more. She credits doing the tribute show with building her up confidence as a performer, and although she gets asked a lot if she knows Taylor, she doesn’t, but she would love to meet her one day.
“We had a show in Northern Michigan, and one of her team members was there, which was really cool,” Wren said. “And I got to talk to him for a little bit after the show, and he had said something that has just stuck with me since the minute he said it. He said that he thinks that Taylor would be really proud of my performance, and of my show, which just honestly made my entire life, because I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan.”
While her own music started out sounding more pop-country and Americana, Wren’s debut album establishes more of her own voice. She’s spent time in Nashville, collaborating with songwriters and producers, including Aron Rosing, who she worked with on her album, including the single, “Fake,” which has taken off online.
“I didn’t want to wait to put it out,” Wren said about forgoing the usual promotional build up to the release of her debut. “I think I wanted to release it so that the people coming to my shows had something to listen to afterwards, because a lot of the people coming to the Taylor Swift shows, they come for the, you know, Taylor Swift, and I perform a few of my songs at the show, and so by the end of it, they kind of fall in love with me and my brand and my songs as well. And I just wanted to release it for those people who come to my shows and they leave wanting to listen to my music.”
While attending U of M, Wren wants to continue to make her own music, and said she is excited about learning more instruments, studying music theory, and spending more time in the studio.
“Just continuing on this path where I’m continuing to grow myself as a musician, and grow these shows that I’m playing, and just getting better,” she said. “I’m also really excited about this pop show, kind of a transition from the Taylor Swift stuff into my stuff, and also other artists that have influenced me. I think that’s going to be something that’s really fun, too. Me and the band have already started working on it, and we’ve done a few shows already, and they’ve gone really well. So I’m excited to do more.”
For more on Kanin Wren, including upcoming shows all across Michigan, visit kaninwren.com.
