Artist Glimpse - Mississauga’s Kendra Gabrielle
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In conversation with Mississauga’s Kendra Gabrielle. She brings a refreshing, unapologetic voice to Canadian country music. Her debut EP, Can’t Help Myself was released in Fall 2023 and is encroaching 150,000 global streams. She loves performing live and has a knack for bringing the audience in and making them feel like her best friend.
Rob Aguiar- Kendra, thank you so much for adding your voice and your heart to this interview series. I’m looking forward to learning more about your journey, inspirations, and songwriting processes.
Kendra Gabrielle -Thank you so much for having me, Rob! I’m so excited to be a part of this series.
RA - Country music is the perfect avenue for a storyteller. Where do you typically draw inspiration for the narratives in your songs?
KG - I usually draw inspiration from my personal life or friends. Writing what you know tells the best story. Love, heartbreak, loss, friendship and finding myself as a female. When life doesn’t present inspirations directly, I turn to books and movies and practice songwriting exercises from the perspective of characters.
RA - As a lover of lyrics, I’m drawn to the vulnerabilities found within them. Lyrics in country music often feel deeply personal. How do you balance vulnerability and creativity when crafting a song that you hope resonates with a wider audience?
KG - I balance it but keep it honest at all times because it's the vulnerabilities that connect the songs with the wider audience as we all experience the same or similar things in our lives. Country music is three or four chords and the truth. I could experience something in 2025 and resonate with a song written in the seventies. The vulnerabilities expressed persist overtime.
“The instance that influenced my writing journey was when I learned about the structured way of writing a song; it helped me speak up more in the songwriting rooms.”
RA - Which one of your songs would you consider to be the most vulnerable? Can you share a specific lyric you’ve written that holds a deep personal meaning, and can you share the story behind it?
KG - This is a great question. I tend to be quite reserved when you first meet me and in my songwriting it’s taking me longer to release the more vulnerable songs. I’ll be diving deeper in my next record and future projects. I would say my most vulnerable previously released song is “Still Lose,” which was on my last EP, “Can't Help Myself.” It was the only acoustic song on the project, and I think it's because of the honesty in the lyrics. The most deep and personal lyrics in the song would be, “It’s a different kinda hurt, it's something new. When you feel like you’ve done all that you could do and you still lose”. This came from a situation where I was doing everything right, but I was still losing. I was made to feel like I wasn’t enough and that was a difficult pill to swallow.
RA - Do you prefer writing songs solo, or do you enjoy collaborating with other songwriters? Can you describe a collaborative experience that helped influence the direction of your music?
KG - I love to collaborate with other writers and artists. I find they bring out so much creativity, and we get amazing songs out of them. I would say the instance that influenced my writing journey was when I learned about the structured way of writing a song; it helped me speak up more in the songwriting rooms.
RA - When writing a new song, either on your own or with another songwriting, what usually comes first, the melody or the lyrics?
KG - Melodies definitely come first after the song idea.
RA - Is there an original song or a cover that consistently evokes a strong reaction from the audience, and what do you think makes it resonate so deeply with them?
KG - There are so many cover options but I am going to choose my original song “RED”. Whenever I play that live there are so many people that resonate with the playfulness and sarcasm of the song. It really showcases my personality and it’s also very catchy. It’s a song that practically wrote itself in under 45 minutes. I’m so excited to play it for you today.
RA - Kendra, it’s been a pleasure connecting with you. I wish you continued success on your journey as a country artist. I’m honoured to be able to showcase you and 5 other female country artists at our next Glimpse Live Music Showcase at the end of April.
KG - It was a pleasure being on this series, thankyou for having me. I’m so excited to be a part of the showcase at the end of April. It will be an incredible afternoon of music with an incredible lineup of artists.
