( hunter schafer, 27, woman, she/her ) ☆ all the way from WIMBERLEY, TEXAS, supernova records is excited to welcome KENNEDY BARRETT! as our resident GOOD LUCK BABE, you remind us of the sharp edge of a wineglass between your lips, the frayed edge on a pack of cards, green-tinted water in a mason jar of wildflowers. you’re also expected to be MAGNETIC and COMPOSED at all times. we know you tend to be JEALOUS and STUBBORN as well, but let’s do our best to keep that under wraps, okay? we look forward to ensuring you shine under our guidance! cc: @supernovainfo
BASICS
(disclaimer that muse dynamics mentioned below are hypotheticals and subject to future plotting w all of u!! also tw for vague references to transphobia, homophobia)
tldr: riot grrl on the outside and folk on the inside. steeped in christian shame and southern love. seeing beauty in everything around her and praying to god, if he still listens, to bestow it upon her too.
full name: kennedy barrett
nicknames: kenny, kb
age: 27
date of birth: june 28, 1998
zodiac sign: cancer
hometown: wimberley, texas
gender: trans woman, she/her
sexuality: lesbian
position: lead singer, do not disturb
MEDIA INTERVIEW
tell us about yourself! where are you from and what has your life been like before now?
she is silent for a moment before she fixes her face into something unaffected. “oh, i don’t know. nothing that interesting. i grew up in a small town, i went to college, and now i get to play music i love for a living. nothing else to talk about.”
she hasn’t been to texas in a decade, not since she left for the last time with the screen door clanging behind her and her mother’s screams echoing behind it, and she hasn’t been to church in just as long. but she still feels an absence when she wakes up hungover on sunday mornings, the guilt sitting on her chest like a cast iron pan. yes, she thinks, the eyes of texas are upon her.
her parents once thought she might go to seminary. teachers thought she seemed happiest in chapel and Bible class. and she wonders how her fans would react if she told them how much she once found comfort in the word of God because of the salvation she thought she would find there if she just studied harder or prayed more. of all the betrayals she had suffered, the first and hardest to bear was that of God - because if Jesus loved her, why would he make her different?
she doesn't talk about that now. but if she had to, she would say Jesus did love her and that’s why she was created with beautiful mysteries inside of her, with the strength to live her life as the person she was always meant to. she finds love in everything, in the rolling green of a cornfield or in the shining reflection of the steel beam of a skyscraper. and sometimes, when she's jumping around on stage, kicking her boots high, she thinks this really isn't so different than church. it's another kind of worship now - this driving need to be understood, to be seen, to make art that makes sense out of the world and guides other people out of their own darkness.
sometimes she indulges in a little daydream. in that dream, she drives back home to texas. the bluebonnets are in bloom. she goes out to dinner with her parents and no one fights. she takes a girl line dancing and no one looks at them (when she's feeling narcissistic, someone comes up and asks for an autograph). she sits on the back porch of her parent's house with an iced tea and writes a song. she feels God in the breeze.
INTERVIEW
what are you most looking forward to on the tour?
“getting to travel the world with my favorite people.” the giddy grin on her face isn’t just for the cameras (even though, of course, everything is a little bit for the cameras) - she fell in love with her bandmates even before they met, knowing through the glimpses of them she caught in small rectangular clips that it would be magic when they started to create together. and it was magic. “i’ve never left the country - hell, barely left texas before i was 20, and now we get to see the world and play our music. it’s a dream. our dream.”
do you have any favorite interactions with the fans?
“uh, i’m still wrapping my head around having fans,” she chuckles, running her hands through her hair. “it’s super cool that people listen to us at all, so like, every interaction is special. but i really love when people say our music helps them feel seen, or even better, that they looked something up or learned something because of something we referenced in our music or online. it’s really important for all of us that we take advantage of having a platform.” although she was painfully aware of the limited power of music to change minds - after all, her parents raised her on phil ochs, woody guthrie, and pete seeger. and here they were.
what advice do you have for others who want to follow in your footsteps?
“only ever be yourself,” she says confidently, meaning it both as earnest advice and as the dig she knows the person who it’s intended to strike will take it as. “it’s hard to put your heart out there through your music, but people can tell when you’re being authentic and when you aren’t, and you’ll never regret being authentic. even if some people don’t like it. because then you know who isn’t worth your time.”
WANTED CONNECTIONS
under construction!
outdoors buddies: kennedy loves to be outside and would love to drag ur muse kayaking, hiking, or camping.
fwb: kennedy is not built for casual relationships but it seems to work for everyone else, so maybe she's trying!
big sister: back at home, kennedy was the eldest of five. even though some people find this annoying, she can't help but give unwanted sisterly advice.
HEADCANONS ETC.
unironic cowboy hat wearer
she tries to visit a dive bar in every city they visit on tour
chronically online but just bought a brick to lower her screentime
certified yearner. she’s in love with the world and just wants the world to love her back. at the genesis of do not disturb, she had tried to pull off an angry, unaffected stage persona, but couldn't sustain it. she does care if you like her.
she is a wonderful gift-giver and a dreadful gift wrapper
can't sit like a normal person for the life of her.
she says she writes all her music in a moleskine notebook, but she’s a poser and actually does most of her writing in the Notes app on her phone
other loves: waffle house, long drives, cutting her own hair, buying shirts with stupid sayings at the thrift, standing outside the bar to smoke with the old men, fantasy novels
she would never bring it up to the rest of the band but she thinks she could write a pretty good country album (a la kacey musgraves or orville peck)
jess's musical inspirations writing kennedy: hayley williams, scene queen, the linda lindas, meet me @ the alter, poutyface, katie gavin, peach prc, mannequin pussy
kennedy's musical inspirations: dolly parton, bratmobile, bikini kill, sleater-kinney, johnny cash, bob dylan, pj harvey, pete seeger
pinterest!
spotify!
