Catch Of The Week: Erin Deneen
Meet: Erin Deneen from Yarmouth, Ma
Erin Deneen is a thoughtful and clever song writer. She can draw from experience or create a new story and execute it in a way that is easy to understand. Her delivery is clear, clean and sensitive. Deneen grew up in Framingham, but now calls Cape Cod home, that is when she’s not in Nashville. She’s been in love with telling stories and “making musical noise” for as long as she can remember. Her grandfather was a big inspiration, even though he didn’t play any instruments or sing. It was his passion for music that he passed on to Erin. She says he would listen to Johnny Cash in the kitchen, and “he’d drum his hands on the counter or the pots and pans he was cleaning in the sink and it made listening to music just 10 times more fun!” He introduced Erin to the idea that music wasn’t just for entertainment, but it was “a happy energy that you could create and feel all on your own.” She’s had that exact feeling ever since. In the second grade, Deneen would beg her mother to get her a drum set. They would walk by yard sales and she would immediately search for the drums. She started drumming, then picked up guitar in the third grade, and before long she was singing and writing songs. Her passion to excel kicked in around the age of 19. Erin describes her music as a “2011-2012 country playlist.” It has elements of pop and country but without the electronic bass used in today’s music.
Erin On The Air
Erin performed a couple of originals when visiting the Country 1025 studios to be the featured Local Catch artist. Check out her song about football…and life, called “Changed.”
The title might throw you, but it is actually inspired by the popular tv shows of which Erin is a fan. Listen to “Housewives.”
Listen to the official studio recording of “Changed” here:
The Dope On Deneen
- Biggest Influences: Lori McKenna, Kelsea Ballerini, Abby Anderson. Their work ethic, love for music and that writing skill is something I try to study every time I listen to their music.
- Once played a few songs with Kelsea Ballerini when she was here opening for Rascal Flatts
- All-time favorite country song: Hunter Hayes- “Wanted.” I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that moment I heard it on Country 102.5. Whenever I hear it, I never fail to get goose bumps.
- Favorite country concert: Lady Antebellum’s Wheels Up Tour at Xfinity Center. Sam Hunt was just getting big at the time, Hunter Hayes was rocking the stage as always. Lady A’s passion and lights on that stage, it was a perfect night of flawless music
- First country concert: Rascal Flatts at Xfinity Center around 2012. Me and my sister had just discovered a little station called “Country 102.5,” fell in love with the music, and those were the first country tickets my mom came across. The day the country music love became real.
- Current favorites on Country 102.5: Anything Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini and newcomer Abby Anderson. Girls who just have such great examples of perfect songwriting minds
- If you weren’t a musician what would you be doing: I’d definitely be telling stories in some shape or form. I went to Wheaton College and majored in film and new media, because my dream at the time was to be a screenwriter. I posted the first song I had even written on my Facebook page my senior year of college and after getting some responses to it from some pretty cool people in the country music world, I realized telling stories through song was another dream worth chasing
- Crazy thing that happened in your career: Playing the streets of Hyannis with my guitar in high school and meeting Carly Simon and Lori McKenna while doing so. Also that first song of mine getting noticed by those in the country music world
- Instruments played: 26! From drums to mandolin, guitar, banjo, piano and many more. Since 2nd grade, it became a tradition for my mom to give me an instrument for every Christmas and birthday
- Most proud moment: Sticking it out! My freshman year of college was tough. I had physical health issue bringing me down, other tough things mentally bringing me down, and I was beginning to notice my real passion for music for the first time. That feeling gave me the idea that getting out of school and focusing on music was the answer to feeling better. But my entire life I had worked so hard to make my dream of playing college softball a reality. It was a difficult choice. Thankfully, I had that softball team, a sisterhood of sorts, that woke me up to the reality that I couldn’t give up everything just because I had this idea that I wasn’t 100% sure about. Therefore, my proudest moment in life is sticking all that out. Because staying in college and having fun memories with those friends were the moments I wrote about in that first song of mine.
- Fun facts: I HATE opossums. Just as much as people hate snakes and spiders
- My jeep is like a item of clothing for me
- I can quote just about every line of The Golden Girls
Erin Engagements
- July 21: Rockettown in Nashville at 8:30pm. Get tickets here: aftonshows.com/erindeneen
- Erin is releasing new music every single Sunday of the summer, now on Spotify, Apple Music and everywhere!
Associate With Erin
Every week, Kruser’s Local Catch highlights New England’s homegrown country music talent, and tells you where to catch them locally and in Nashville. Click here to view previous catches.
If you would like to be considered for Catch of the Week e-mail your information and a sample of your work to localcatch@country1025.com
