Artist on the Rise – Kevin Garrett

Known for poignant out-of-love songs that combine classic soul with modern electronics and traditional instrumentation, Kevin Garrett is a Brooklyn-based, Pittsburgh-born singer-songwriter. Garrett is an unsigned, independent artist. His music creates a moody, slow jam feeling, in addition to his ethereal stage presence. Garrett just recently finished his first headline tour, The False Hope Tour, which followed the release of his latest EP, False Hope. Kevin Garrett has shared stages with X Ambassadors, Oh Wonder, Emily King, and Alessia Cara.

Although having been exposed to dozens of artists, he has created a very unique style that is distinctly his own, which has been starting to catch the eye of many stars in the music industry. One being Beyonce Knowles. Her recent album ‘Lemonade’ features the song “Pray You Catch Me” written by Kevin Garrett. Being the first track on the album, it sets the mood for the rest of the Beyonce’s chart topping record with Garrett’s piano runs mixed with Beyonce’s strong voice.

Honored to have written & produced “Pray You Catch Me” with @Beyonce for her album #LEMONADE, I’m floored, thank you all for the love 👑🐝🍋🙏🏼

— Kevin Garrett (@KevinOGarrett) April 24, 2016

The personality of Kevin Garrett matches the style of his music. He is a calm speaker on stage and goes deep into his music, putting all he has into each performance. Having been able to meet and talk with him, I know him to be a very humble person. He always goes for a handshake and asks for your name and makes a point to thank everyone for coming to the show, buying his music and supporting him. With some artists, you get one feeling from their studio music and another feeling from their live music. However, Kevin manages to transfer the energy from a live performance and deliver that energy into his studio recorded music. Below is a live video from one of Kevin Garrett’s shows played at The Pike Room in Pontiac, Michigan February 2017.

Although first know as a singer, Kevin Garrett can also be credited as a pianist and songwriter. His song ‘Refuse’ captivates his all three of those talents best. Starting off with a beautiful, lengthy piano solo followed by delicate lyrics. In his latest EP, False Hope, which was recently released, Kevin delved into a more moody electronic sound, but still managed to incorporate some of his original traditional sounds from his debut EP, Mellow Drama. In his performances he is usually standing behind his keyboard playing along with each song. His band includes an additional keyboardist, a drummer, as well as a guitarist/sound mixer.

Kevin Garrett is a unique artist who is on the rise in the music industry. When small, independent artists begin gaining attention, it’s easy for them to succumb to big record labels and end up losing their unique sense of creativity in the process. Record labels such as Capitol Records and Sony Music Entertainment are often viewed as a fast track to fame to some artists. The fact that Kevin Garrett takes pride in labelling himself as an independent artist shows that he wants to create an art that he is in control of and be able to take his creativity in any direction he chooses, without being held back by a major record label. When an artist looks beyond the fame and simply at the art they are making, that’s where some of the best work is created. Early on in his career, Kevin Garrett has many independent accomplishments, and all eyes in the music industry should be kept on  him.