Bre Kennedy
Since February 2015, Bre Kennedy has been in Nashville writing songs that directly reflect her journey as a seeker of truth. In making her fourth studio album The Alchemist, she finally found what she was looking for — within herself, and through some of her hardest experiences.
“Every single day of my life I’m becoming somebody, and I have a choice in who I want to become,” Kennedy tells the Scene, a mug of coffee firmly in hand at Dose in East Nashville. “When I was writing The Alchemist, I just remember just thinking, ‘I want to write to my future self.’ And that’s how I’ve written all of my songs without realizing it.
“It’s so lonely out there, no matter who we have. At the end of the day, it’s just us and ourselves. I always thought that the best parts of my life were the accolades … but it’s actually in the valley lows. It’s in the worst parts of my life that I realized I’m becoming who I am, and that’s really amazing.”
As Kennedy began work on The Alchemist in May 2024, she also took on an unexpected role as a caretaker for her grandmother. Kennedy split her time between Nashville and her grandma’s home in Utah, a place covered in wildflowers and filled with the lingering scent of Pall Malls — a house she was exceedingly proud to own.
“My grandma’s the OG alchemist,” Kennedy says. “She really came from nothing, and then she bought her own home. She won’t even let her partner of 30 years live with her. She’s gifted me her home. It’s like she’s passing the flame to me. She found out that she could take all the brokenness in life and make it beautiful, and she’s given me that.”
The songsmith’s journey to this new era of self-discovery started a few years ago. Kennedy had a burning desire to learn more about her mother, who struggled with addiction during her childhood and continues fighting to stay sober. Their first real conversation in years sowed the seeds for a strong and beautiful bond of womanhood between Kennedy and her sister, mother and grandmother. As it blossomed, it bore fruit in many songs on The Alchemist.
Sadly, Kennedy’s grandma passed away Jan. 17, between our interview and the album release — set for Jan. 30, when Kennedy will celebrate with an intimate show at The Blue Room at Third Man Records, supported by Abigail Rose and Joey Brodnax. But she at least got to hear (and put her stamp of approval on) Kennedy’s new work.
Kennedy’s voice is breathy and delicate over the inventive indie-pop arrangements on the album, but she writes with fierce strength, illuminating tender moments of sturdy hope throughout the LP. There’s power in her ability to be vulnerable, and she is an artist who naturally pours out her soul in a way that’s infectious. The titular song closes the album, and it features standout lines like: “My mother cried when she opened her eyes / She was born in a fire so she lived in the rain / And I got a sky that was ripped open wide / It poured like a river that washed me away.” Kennedy opens up space for heavy conversations — ones that are reassuring in our human desires to be less alone.
“In the song, when I say, ‘Making friends with the girl who’s just doing her best / Here’s to the alchemist,’ I thought it was me talking to me. But it was actually me talking to my mom. This album truly started when I chose to show up as my best in this season of life.”
