Alumni Profiles

ALUMNI PROFILES A closer look at Ensworth Alumni

Kelleigh Bannen '95 Singer, Songwriter, and Podcast and Radio Show Host

You might hear her singing on the radio, or hosting Apple Music’s first country-focused radio show, “Today’s Country.” Kelleigh Bannen ‘95 wears many hats in the country music world: singer, songwriter, and podcast and radio show host.

Bannen’s dream of pursuing a career in the music industry first sparked in high school when she co-wrote a song with Christian music artist, Mark Schultz. But she tucked that dream away as she graduated high school and headed to college to pursue something “more practical” with her education.

She continued writing songs in her spare time, but it wasn’t until after she graduated college and was studying for the LSAT that she started writing in a more earnest and serious way. It was then that she asked herself the difficult question: do I have what it takes to become a country music artist and to make a career out of this? “I still don’t know if I have an answer to that question,” Bannen says today, “but I’m just still doing it.”

Bannen wrote a handful of albums that never came out, but she didn’t let that stop her from pursuing her dream. While continuing to write and record her songs, Bannen launched a new podcast, “This Nashville Life,” in 2016 to share stories from behind the scenes of Music City’s biggest export and to share with listeners the good, the bad, and the ugly of what it’s like to be an aspiring country music artist. “This Nashville Life” is now in its fourth season.

write each and every one of the 14 songs on the album. “Even though we are moving away from an album format, it was just important to me to make an album so I could at least say I made an album. Instead of fretting over all the songs being perfect, they just are a snapshot of where I am right now and over the last few years,” Bannen says of her first album.

On top of all of her commitments and work in the music industry, Bannen still finds time to go to the gym or to exercise three times a week. “I find I’m a lot less cranky and I’m a lot more generous and creative when I’m moving my body,” Bannen admits.

It was her time at Ensworth that Bannen says helped her to have a positive mindset about exercising and living a healthy lifestyle. “I think about that joyful, innocent approach to working out and exercising when it wasn’t about body image; it wasn’t about being skinny; it wasn’t about being anything; it was just about moving and having fun. I think that’s something that, for me, has been a journey to learn to embrace the idea of being strong over being a certain body type and also enjoy being strong and how that makes me feel—how it makes me feel empowered.”

When asked what advice Bannen would give to aspiring artists, Bannen says, “Spend as much time as you can discovering what makes you unique. Instead of trying to become like others, embrace the things that may seem like flaws to the outside world, the things that make you different and focus on developing your own voice. I think the things that win in a big way win because they connect, people feel something, and also because they do something different.”

Francie Fisher Corcoran ’09 Co-owner of barre3 in Brentwood

Student government, track, cross country, and Capstone projects are just a few of the activities Francie Fisher Corcoran '09 participated in during her 13 years at Ensworth. It was learning to balance all of her extracurricular activities, her rigorous coursework, and spending time with friends and family that taught her the importance and benefits of living a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Now, Francie is living out her life-long dream of being a business owner, opening up a ba r re 3 s t ud io i n Brent wood i n September 2019 with her business partner, Jessie Ganick. Barre3 is described as a full-body workout that combines strength conditioning, cardio, and mindfulness, but the results are much more than just physical. “Rather than walking out of our studio feeling defeated, barre3 leaves you feeling stronger in your mind and body. It’s not about the number on the scale or the way your clothes fit, but rather, it’s about finding joy in movement and staying present amongst the chaos.”

Francie first discovered barre3 in 2014 when she moved to New York Cit y. “I felt so lost, intimidated, and uncertain after leaving two wonderful networks in Nashville and Winston Salem. Barre3 became my haven in NYC; it was my secret escape when I needed 60 minutes to just move and center my thoughts, and it always left me feeling like I was worthy and enough.” Francie’s love for barre3 would continue to grow as she made the decision to move back to Nashville and become an instructor at the barre3 studios here. Over the next few years, Francie says she gained a new type of confidence that would end up translating into every area of her life, “Finding barre3 has instilled a new type of confidence in me—one that allowed me to fall in love with my now-husband, Tom, one that has helped me navigate the world of Public Relations, and one that ultimately pushed me to take the leap and open my own studio. Barre3 helps me stay grounded so that I can continue to be a better wife, daughter, leader, friend, and colleague.”

That confidence is what led her to open her own barre3 studio. Her goal now is to pay it forward in hopes of helping other people find that confidence through her classes. “Our hope is that clients can embrace imbalances as opportunities to move life forward toward a more balanced state. We want them to feel strong, powerful and humbly confident after leaving our studio so that they, too, can go meet their soulmate, tackle their fears, and take care of loved ones.”

You can visit Francie’s barre3 studio at 4908 Thoroughbred Ln. in Brentwood.