Rising Stars: Meet Makenna Lyric of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Makenna Lyric.

Hi Makenna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story begins within the walls of my childhood home in Missoula Montana. My parents filled the house with a mix of Tracey Chapman and Deniece Williams. I’ve been singing since I was a child, I started on piano, taught myself guitar in 8th grade after my mothers death, and slowly built my sound from there. I began recording music in my childhood bedroom around that time as well, and released my first two singles on large streaming platforms in 2020. After moving to Atlanta, I blossomed, and my sound did as well. I released my first self produced projects in 2022 and 2023, and I recently released my 2nd self produced album Carve It On Every Stone.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Making music is my way of sitting with and healing from the obstacles I experience as a person living life–falling in and out of love, experiencing self doubt, being burdened by the weight of capitalism, etc. I see each project as my thesis for the eras of my life. The biggest struggle as an emerging independent artist is making the time to promote and create while supporting oneself in America.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a composer, producer, ambient-folk artist, community organizer, and multi-instrumentalist. My sound is categorized by layered reverberant harmonies, guitar picking patterns, soulful vocals, and introspective lyrics. I’m proud of my ongoing effort to shed the impostor syndrome that comes with being a woman in production, and an emerging artist. I had to make the decision to either allow my vision to be watered down by other producers, or teach myself to produce. My stubborn personality wouldn’t have settled for the first option.

My first album “Leap!” explores by journey to realizing my sexuality, and the internal battles that come with rejecting societal rules. My second album “Carve It On Every Stone” explores the themes of allowing change, and ultimately circling back to yourself, which seems to happen again and again in new ways. As a Black lesbian, I believe we deserve more representation in all forms of media, and I aim to be just that. In my first year of composing for films, I scored for a Sundance Film called “Gender Studies”, and many other films by talented filmmakers. I look forward to continuing this work, and growing as an artist.

I’m also proud of the work I’ve done in the community to bring Black queer women together through my Black Lesbian Journal Club! We meet every Sunday at Raani Coffee from 2-4, and we’ve recently expanded to New York City.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
This is a cute question. Growing up in Montana gave me a deep and foundational appreciation for nature, and when I think about my childhood, I smell the pine trees and the river that runs through my hometown. I spent a lot of time outside, which likely affects the expansiveness that you hear in my music. When I think of my childhood, I think of the lilac tree in my backyard that would only be in bloom for a few weeks out of the year, I think of the farmers market that I’d attend with my grandmother, my neighbors plum tree I’d climb into and pick from every spring, the cookouts my dad would host in our backyard…There was a lot of beauty in my childhood despite complicated family dynamics, addiction, and grief.

My song “Mystified” from my new album is about the rose tinted lenses we all carried throughout childhood, and how they become smudged with time. As a child, I felt so close to the spiritual world, and the mysteries that Earth holds. This is a big part of the concept of “circling back” that I always mention…I think the goal is to eventually circle back to that lust for life we all had as children.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/makennalyric