Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Andrew.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
GRRRL Music started as a creative outlet for me post-college with one of my other music-obsessed friends. I studied radio broadcasting in college and was the Music Director for our radio station which gave me the tools to work with community members, music promoters, and record stores throughout Pittsburgh. When I graduated, I needed a place to talk about all the music I was devouring and thus GRRRL Music was born! Yes, the name is a nod to the riot grrrl movement of the 90s!
So GRRRL Music started as my hobby and throughout the first year, we were very small, posting when we could and not dedicating much time to it. Real-life got in the way and we put a pause on the blog. Fast forward over 4 years later, I returned home to San Diego to be close to my friends and sunshine.
Once getting back into the routine of life, my lifelong best friend, Ashley Derrigo, and I were talking about our future and she talked about bringing GRRRL Music back to life and she would help me run it. We immediately jumped into it and over the past year we’ve started a podcast, gained over 7,000 followers on our Instagram and have worked with musicians from all over the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m convinced nothing goes smoothly, so of course, we have had our struggles! Ashley works as a full-time accountant and I am primarily a caretaker for my mother so our schedules can be tiring. Time is always against us in the industry since music is constantly being released, so we have had to build routines and be in constant communication to work on staying consistent with content creation, administrative work and going out into the community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been involved with music my entire life, from being in musical theatre at an early age to receiving my degrees in Radio Broadcasting and Music Business, it’s been my constant.
GRRRL Music is a media company that uses social media to promote new and upcoming artists through playlisting, collaborations, and content! We listen to all genres of music but our main focus tends to be on independent music in pop, rock, and alternative scenes. We are known for our self-deprecating humor and amplification of women in the music industry.
We are most proud of the community we’ve started building, our followers are our friends and we’ve met so many new people in a year where we were all stuck at home and we’ve built trust amongst everyone. If you follow us, you know what we stand for, who we are and the music we truly believe in. We’ll never be negative about musicians, we’ll ALWAYS be inclusive and we will always love talking about music.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We’ve learned that community is everything and strangers can easily turn to friends. We’ve started friendships with new artists who are brand new in the business and we want to be a positive source for them. Patience and kindness go a long way in our industry and we’ve learned that even if someone lives in London, we can still be supportive and helpful even if it’s over the internet.
Contact Info:
- Email: admin@grrrlmusic.com
- Website: https://www.grrrlmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grrrlmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTC3cVgYaLWbOnASMUDxhtA
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grrrlmusic?
Image Credits
Amina Touray
