Keenie Word - Always Been Country By Jennifer Lee

KEENIE WORD

Always Been Country

By Jennifer Lee

Keenie Word

“I grew up in a ranching/rodeo family, so I was always somewhat of the odd man out having my main passion be for music.” Keenie Word has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her mom has pictures of her singing the National Anthem at a rodeo at three years old while someone is holding her up to the microphone. “I spent my early years on my grandparents’ ranch on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It was in the middle of absolute nowhere, seven miles to our mailbox, and not a whole lot to entertain yourself with,” she says. “We would drive around in the truck and sing as much as we could. My dad was a fabulous singer and sang and danced with me all the time, so I think I probably picked some of that up from him.”

Keenie is a small-town girl, a South Dakota native whose rural roots of hard work and faith-based living have been foundational in sustaining her throughout a successful career in Nashville’s fast-paced music industry. Keenie recalls of her childhood, “We (later) moved to a smaller ranchette in Hermosa. The town at the time only had about a thousand people. When it was nice out, I’d come straight home from school and ride my horse.” She continues, “I loved growing up in a small town. We had a lot of livestock and I watched my parents work hard. I was expected to work hard as well.” She adds, “I vividly remember my dad singing. I learned what good music was, and if it wasn’t Marty Robbins, I would be listening to anything by Eddie Arnold or Patsy Montana.”

Keenie began singing while still a toddler and, through the support of her family and those who recognized her talent, has continued singing, performing, and songwriting to this day—twenty-one years later. “My mom has been friends with Susie and Reba McEntire since the 80s,” Keenie says. “I definitely think (Susie) encouraging me to keep singing, and my parents investing their time into me, is when people started noticing that potentially there was more to my music than it just being a pastime.” Craig and Pam Nelson, Keenie’s God-parents, who, Keenie says, "are two of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet” also saw her potential too. Pam, who has been working at Rushmore Shadows Resort for as long as Keenie can remember, hired her to do her first solo show at age twelve. "That was pretty huge for me at that time. I can’t thank her enough for taking a chance on me,” Keenie recalls. Later, in her sophomore year, Keenie"got [her] first full time singing gig playing weekly night shows at the Ft. Hays Chuckwagon." She notes, "I still stay in contact with many of the players on the show. I love Ft. Hays and my time spent there.” Also, during that period, “Susie (McEntire) took me under her wing and started to mentor me and gave me a chance to perform with her." Keenie explains, "I worked with all kinds of amazing artists across South Dakota, including Linda Lee Harris and Soni Wilcox—who helped me learn to yodel. I would play anywhere and everywhere. I couldn’t get enough of it.”

At the young age of eleven, as Keenie was experiencing unprecedented momentum in her career, she was simultaneously in the aftermath of a deep loss in her life. On a July afternoon in 2006, her father, while working on their ranch, had an accident and died a few hours later. “When my dad passed away, everything in my life changed. I had to grow up quickly,” Keenie says of this time. “My mom did such a great job raising me on her own. She worked so hard to allow me to live the best life I could.” She remembers “playing basketball with dad every night while the horses were eating, and waking up early before school to sit on dad’s lap as he read the Bible." She recalls, "My fondest memories will always be of when my family was whole, and my dad was with us.”

That same year, Keenie and her Mom went to the capitol of country music where Susie was recording a new album. “I had dreamed of going to Nashville before I even knew where it was. I just knew somehow, someway I was going to end up there,” Keenie says. “Susie invited me down to visit and see how things were done. I went downtown on Music Row and I just remember absolutely beaming and feeling like I really finally belonged somewhere.” Through an introduction from Susie, Billy Aerts, who had helped develop young artists like Miley Cyrus and the Eli Young Band—and was producing Susie’s album—became Keenie’s producer. Keenie says she “was like a sponge” in the recording studio. Upon hearing the young Keenie sing for the first time, Billy said, “Wow. You’re country!! I love it!” At seventeen, Billie asked if Keenie would consider being in a duo. It was a good pairing; Aubree Bullock and Keenie Word went under the name “The Damsels” and worked together for four years. “Things really took off for us at a fast pace,” Keenie recalls. From opening at the MGM Grand for LoCash and Neal McCoy and then on to opening for Martina McBride, The Band Perry, and Chris Cagle, “the bookings just kept rolling in.”

“I’ve been so fortunate to be able to travel all over the world playing my music and opening for artists/acts. My favorite trip of all was my trip to Africa in 2015," Keenie says. This is where Keenie met the man she would marry. At her and Aubree’s show on their last night in Djibouti, “two men from the crowd (were picked) to come on stage and have [Keenie and Aubree] sing to them." "I struggled because I could tell I was going to like this guy,” she says. After several months, in a long-distance relationship, Zach and Keenie married in 2017.

In the upcoming months Keenie will be traveling to Oklahoma, West Virginia, Nevada, Alabama, and back to South Dakota for shows. Also, earlier this year, Brennley Brown from The Voice chose one of Keenie’s songs for her debut album. “I was so honored!" Keenie says. "My career has taken a lot of different paths but that’s not one I saw coming. I can’t wait to continue writing and hopefully have more success in that realm.” And with another new turn, Keenie recently had an acting part in a Lifetime production, Patsy and Loretta Forever, to be released later this year. But, over the years, she has learned not to take herself too seriously and tempers her celebrity. “Who knows? The way the editing goes, you might just see a shot of my nostril,” she quips. In another project, Keenie has partnered with Susie McEntire in organizing a retreat, Pamper Me, and encourages all to attend the Rapid City Pamper Me on Saturday, January 25th, 2020. “Check my Facebook for more details!" she says.

Having moved from urban Nashville, Keenie, Zach, and their dogs, Harley and Penny, “who are [their] whole entire world,” live in a small one-stoplight town south of the city, where, she says, “There is a mom and pop diner and a farmer’s market every Saturday and the people make me feel like home.” Reflectively, Keenie comments, “I’ve lived a lot of life in my short 24 years. I have learned that I have an amazing God, and all I can say is that I’m really grateful. I wouldn’t change any of it for anything.” BHW