Singer in the spotlight for 'Sober & Sorry'
<p><strong>Kayla Adams</strong> gets tips from the director between takes during the recording of her new music video at Casey’s Bar in Whitefish. </p>
<p><strong>Country music</strong> singer Kayla Adams sings her single, “Sober & Sorry.”</p><div> </div>
<p><strong>The recording</strong> of Adams’ music video included about 50 extras at Casey’s Bar in Whitefish. </p><div> </div>
Kayla Adams wants her first video to not only showcase her first country single — “Sober & Sorry” — but also be her introduction to the world.
That means setting the video in Northwest Montana where she grew up and highlighting her style as a self-described “rhinestone cowgirl.”
“I’m not really the hippie type, I’ll be going a little bit edgier,” Adams said. “With the performance pieces, one will be a little rockish and glittery, the other will be outdoors and a little more natural.”
And the video’s storyline involving Adams burning down a former boyfriend’s house? That part of the video is fiction, but the fantasy was stoked by the ashes of a real-life relationship.
Adams, 24, started shooting the video for “Sober & Sorry” on Tuesday at Casey’s Bar in Whitefish and another outdoor location in the Flathead Valley. Without giving too much away, Adams said the video will feature performance scenes and footage of Adams at the home of the boyfriend (played by Michael Hughes of Whitefish) choosing which of his treasured possessions to throw into the revenge-fueled fire described in the song.
“We’re shooting it here because this is my first video and we wanted to do our best to show who I am,” she said. “For our outdoor spot, people will get to see the mountains and there’s a big barn. It will be the first thing a lot of people see of me, so they’ll see where I’m from.”
While she was trying to establish her music career, Adams said she played almost all the musical venues in the valley, but Casey’s was chosen for the video because of the variety of settings it offered plus its overall look.
“”It’s kind of a rockin’ song and the look of the bar fits with that,” she said. “It’s kind of edgy and clubby.”
Since graduating from Flathead High School, Adams has worked with a band and as a solo artist, touring relentlessly throughout the region and the country, including a road trip from Kalispell to Florida and back.
She also gained some formal music education, spending a semester at Belmont University in Nashville and then a year at the Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music in Hollywood.
The move to Nashville about nine months ago was a big step, but Adams said taking that chance has put her on a fast track. She had a development deal in the works when she moved to Nashville, but Adams said it wasn’t too long before her label — SSM Entertainment — signed her full time.
“Nashville is awesome,” she said. “It’s an amazing city, it has a little bit of a smalltown vibe,” she said. “I toured and played a lot and definitely paid some dues, but compared to what some people have to go through when they move to Nashville, I feel so blessed.”
Adams and “Sober & Sorry” co-writers Billy Atherholt and Pete Nanney are working on an EP now, which she hopes to have completed within the next few months.
Adams’ filming stop in the Flathead Valley is in between radio tours to promote her first single. Before coming back to the valley, she had spent three weeks visiting radio stations, and she’ll soon be heading out again.
“I equate it to going on a thousand first dates,” Adams said. “Every station you go to you meet a whole new group of people who want to know who you are, where you came from, why did you write this song?
“For me the radio tour is huge, especially with my first single. No one on radio knows who I am, and we have a wonderful promotion team and they call the stations, get them to listen and hopefully add it [to their playlists.]”
“Sober & Sorry” is not yet available for download, but the song can be heard at www.kaylaadamsmusic.com
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.