Birmingham SlossFest Profile: K.Flay
K.Flay will be performing at SlossFest on Sunday, July 16. (Contributed)
Performer: K.Flay
Type of music: Alt-pop/Hip-hop
About: K.Flay is an L.A.-based singer, songwriter and producer, whose sharp wordplay and smooth flow have propelled her sophomore LP, “Every Where is Some Where,” to No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
Following her debut in 2010, K.Flay’s genre-bending beats have led to her opening or touring with diverse artists, including: Snoop Dog, Passion Pit, Icona Pop, Awolnation, Theophilus London and Mother Mother.
K.Flay (aka Kristine Flaherty) will be stopping in Birmingham this summer before joining Imagine Dragons for their North American Evolve Tour this fall. Flaherty said she is “excited to be playing this year’s Sloss Festival. See you in July!”
In her press release for “Every Where is Some Where,” Flaherty remarked that, “as a songwriter, that’s my main enterprise — looking at the events in my life and engaging in a constant framing and reframing of those events.”
“Experience is subjective,” Flaherty continued. “We get to decide what’s devastating, what’s beautiful, and what we do next. In the books of our lives, we are both protagonist and narrator. And narrators have incredible power.”
“Each song on the record is about creating a different kind of meaning out of a different kind of something,” Flaherty said. “Even the dark places are places. You’re still somewhere.”
On the album’s first official single, “High Enough,” Flaherty cleverly explores the power of lucid self-acceptance. “What if I don’t need anything but what I’ve got? There are many moments in my life — whether it’s because of a person or a place — that I don’t want to feel altered or high or buzzed. I just want to feel exactly what I’m feeling.”
Originally from Illinois, K.Flay learned to play guitar from her father when she was a child. While in college at Stanford University, Flaherty began writing and performing. Following graduation, she moved to San Francisco to pursue her music career.
K.Flay is the first signing to Interscope imprint Night Street Records, founded by Imagine Dragons’ front man, Dan Reynolds. Her current album features production from some of pop music’s heaviest hitters, including Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Skylar Grey, Twenty One Pilots) and Tommy English (BØRNS, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Ladyhawke).
You can follow K.Flay on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
You might have heard: “Blood in the Cut”
Sources: K.Flay bio, “Every Where is Some Where” press release, High Enough Tour Announcement
Discography: “What if it is” (2013), “Life as a Dog” (2014), “Every Where is Some Where” (2017)
Playing at SlossFest: K.Flay will take the Steam stage from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, July 16.
Sloss Music and Arts Festival takes place at the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham July 15-16 and features 40 performers on four stages. Tickets can be purchased here.
