Christena Graves’ Debut on the Tasty Brew!

IN ADDITION TO THE USUAL MIX OF AMERICANA, BLUEGRASS, COUNTRY AND ROOTS MUSIC, THIS WEEK HOST DIANA LINN WELCOMES LAWRENCE BASED SONGWRITER CHRISTINA GRAVES FOR HER DEBUT ON AIR PERFORMANCE FOR THE TASTY BREW MUSIC RADIO SHOW.  GRAVES WRITES SONGS IN ORDER TO MAKE SENSE OF HER WORLD.  HER LYRICS ARE A MIXTURE OF A HEARTFELT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE PAIN AND SUFFERING IN LIFE, BALANCED BY THE STEADYING FORCE OF COMMITTED RELATIONSHIPS. GROWING UP IN A COASTAL AREA OF WESTERN MICHIGAN, CHRISTENA DRAWS FROM HER DEEP CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL WORLD TO HELP FRAME THE DIFFICULTY OF THE HUMAN EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE.  “NATURE BRINGS FOCUS FOR ME. I RELY ON IT TO COLOR MY LYRICS.” SHE FOUND HER MUSICAL BEGINNING LEARNING TO SING HARMONIES WITH HER OLDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS.  MUSIC WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF HER FAMILY AND THEY WOULD OFTEN SING HYMNS TOGETHER.

AFTER LEAVING MICHIGAN TO ATTEND COLLEGE IN MISSOURI, SHE MET HER HUSBAND BRANDON AND JOINED THE BAND WATERDEEP AS THE KEYBOARD PLAYER.  AFTER TOURING FOR SEVERAL YEARS, SHE STEPPED AWAY FROM THE BAND TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN.  SONGWRITING BECAME A RELEASE TO HELP PROCESS THE STRUGGLES OF LIFE.

2019 MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTENA GRAVES BAND AND THE GROUND WORK BEING LAID FOR HER RETURN TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.  IN MID 2020 GREG LAFOLLETTE, A LONG TIME MUSICAL FRIEND, MOVED BACK TO KANSAS CITY FROM NASHVILLE WHERE HE HAD BUILT A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS AN ARTIST AND PRODUCER.  NOW LIVING IN LAWRENCE, GRAVES HAS RELEASED “FINDING MY FOOTING” AND WILL BE ATTENDING HER FIRST FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY.  TUNE IN TO HEAR THIS VERY TALENTED LOCAL SONGCRAFTER ON THE TASTY BREW!

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