Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Mertz.
Hi Brooke, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a 20 year old singer songwriter born and raised in Kansas City. I started singing as a kid, and I knew as I was growing up that music is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So I practiced a lot, I took piano lessons, taught myself guitar, and sang any chance I could get. It was truly my first love. I started writing songs when I was about 10 years old. When I realized that I could also tell my own stories and communicate my feelings through my own music, a whole other world was opened up! I now have two singles released on streaming platforms, “Strings” and “Silver Lining” as well as a live EP that I was lucky enough to record at Brandy Mellville Studios in New York City titled “My Side of the Story”. My latest release “Silver Lining” came out on August 21 along side my debut music video for it! I’m really proud of this project as a whole and being able to have full creative control during the process was truly life changing.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely been a roller coaster, but the life of an artist is never easy and I know what I signed up for. When I was freshly 15 I signed with a management/development team that was based in Nashville. I worked with them for three years while they tried to develop me into a Contemporary Christian music artist, but deep down I knew that wasn’t me! It wasn’t authentic and it wasn’t the style of music I wanted to write or the space I wanted to be in. I broke away from that after releasing a single with them last April and since then I’ve found a new appreciation for being an independent artist with full creative control over myself and my music. I really value authenticity and being genuine in my art because when I was faking it I was so unhappy. Now my music is a place for me to grieve, to celebrate, and to reflect on the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. My goal is to create a space for people to feel heard and know that they are not alone in how they are feeling. I recently had a show to celebrate the release of my new single “Silver Lining” and mid set I was talking about how songwriting is how I process my emotions. I told the crowd that sometimes just having the words for what you’re going through is all you need to start healing, and I fully believe that’s the first step, and I want to be that first step towards healing for people through my music.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have had some pretty big wins for an independent artist! If you live in KC you’ve probably heard me sing the National Anthem at a KC Mavericks hockey game, cause I do that quite often! I also had the opportunity to sing the anthem at a Savannah Bananas game at their sold out game in Kauffman stadium last year! But what I’m most proud of is a series I accidentally started on TikTok a while back that I have now deemed “it doesn’t hurt to ask” where I ask artists coming through KC on tour if I can be their local opener. I always say it’s worked in my favor enough that I’m going to keep doing it! This outlook has really changed my perspective on life in general because it’s helped me get better at just asking for what I want cause the worst they could say is “no”. And I learned how true it is that you won’t know if you don’t ask! All this to say the first time this worked I got to open for Forrest Blakk on his tour in 2024. It was my first “big” show and really gave me a lot of confidence in myself as an artist and the confidence to keep making connections and asking for what I want in this format. Forrest and I shared a really sweet moment at the end of the night when he came into the crowd and completely surprised me by handing me the mic to sing the last chorus of his hit song “If You Love Her” to close out the night! That next year I got to open for the artist KAYKO, who was a top 10 finalist in season 22 of American Idol, just by asking in the same way. I also got to sing a duet with Haven Madison (also a finalist on season 22 of Idol) on her KC tour stop opening for Stacey Ryan. That was a really incredible experience for me as an artist because I really look up to her and love her music, so I was thrilled that I got to meet her artist to artist! These shows have taught me that it truly never hurts to just ask for what you want and I would encourage any artist, even outside of the music world to try and simply ask for the opportunities they want!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Kansas City for so many reasons and I appreciate how supportive people are in the music scene here! There’s also lots of fun venues to play at and the overall atmosphere is very positive. I think the downside is there’s not as many outlets for younger artists available and I think that’s something we should really work on as a community. Having a space to learn and grow as a singer a songwriter and a musician when I was younger would’ve been so cool!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brookemertz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookemertzmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094806420355
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brookemertzmusic
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookemertzmusic
