Kalie Shorr: From Hot Dog Stand Employee to Rising Star
When Kaile Shorr moved to Nashville, the country artist knew she'd have to pay her dues ... which, in her case, meant manning a hot dog stand inside a Music City honky-tonk.
A native of Portland, Maine, Shorr was so committed to her craft that she finished high school early, saved up enough money for a month's rent and moved to Nashville to pursue her dream of a career in country music. That East Coast grit helped the singer weather her first job in Music City, at a hot dog stand inside Nashville's famed honky-tonk Tequila Cowboy.
“It was just as ridiculous as you’d think it would be: I sold hot dogs and cigarettes to really, really drunk people downtown," Shorr recalls to Taste of Country in her RISERS interview. "I had read somewhere that Faith Hill had worked at McDonald’s, and every day I’d go into work at the hot dog stand and think, ‘If Faith Hill can work at McDonald’s, you can work at this stupid hot dog stand.’”
Those 6PM-4AM shifts were interesting, for sure: Shorr once got punched by a drunk female customer! Luckily, the aspiring star found the all-women singer-songwriter group called Song Suffragettes, eventually becoming part of their #LetTheGirlsPlay movement. Shorr's song "Fight Like a Girl" is an anthem of sorts for #LTGP, but its the group's offstage collaborations and support that mean the most to her.
“The biggest misconception about Song Suffragettes and Let the Girls Play is that we hate men," Shorr says. "[Really], it’s about unity and positivity ... I’m proud to be outspoken about it, and I’m proud to be someone people point to when they’re talking about women who are trying to break down doors.”
Shorr released her Slingshot EP in March; the project includes her latest single, "Nothin' New," which readers can hear below.
Watch Kaile Shorr Perform "Nothin' New" in Nashville
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