Off in the east of Colorado lies a small town called Kiowa. In that town lies a tight-knit community, in that community lies an aspiring artist.
Kenya Reese might have just released her first single “Can’t Take Me Down,” but she’s been chasing her dreams of becoming a recording artist since she was just three years old.
“Music has always been there,” Reese said. “It has never not been part of my life. I could always find a song that I could sing, or listen to, to help me get through a hard time.”
Her life-long dreams have always been met with the support of her family, community and just about everyone who has had the opportunity to hear her sing. When she was invited to sing the national anthem at one of Kiowa’s basketball games, she took that offer and ran with it.
The community fell in love with her immediately. Not just because she was talented, but because of how hard of a worker she was. Reese brought passion, hard work and an incredible level of dedication to every performance.
“We needed someone to sing the national anthem at our basketball games, because we usually just did a recording off of YouTube,” said Sandy Kalisch, a family friend. “And from there, she just rocked socks. I am telling you; girl can sing it. Everybody kept asking me ‘is she coming back?’”
As her community started to realize the talent that Reese possesed, she started to become a staple at the community events.
She started to sing at football games — including Kiowa’s homecoming game — and any school function the community could get her at. With each performance, Reese’s confidence grew, as the realization of the steps she was starting to take to achieving her goal became apparent.
“I hadn’t really sang the national anthem before,” Reese said. “I’d sing it a little bit at home, in front of my parents, or whoever, but this was like the first time singing it in front of other people. So, obviously I had a little bit of nerves, but then everyone was very supportive of me and my dreams and everything. So those nerves eventually sort of went away after like the second time.”
As those nerves started to ease and her confidence grew, Reese found more and more opportunities to advance her career. While she started off in Kiowa, she’s now sang at venues like the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado and for the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
Reese continues to find more and more steppingstones of reaching her dream venue of singing the national anthem for the National Finals Rodeo.
“My dream is to work my way up to the NFR because that would be a dream come true for me,” Reese said. “I feel like I will be very fulfilled and happy getting there, because the national anthem is my favorite song to sing because it brings me the most joy and the most pride being able to sing an anthem for my country.”
Regardless of who a person is, having a lot of success immediately can overwhelming and exciting, something that is no different in Reese’s case.
But she’s handled that excellently. There’s no doubt as to how much her community has fallen in love with her voice, but something else they have noticed is her kindness, generosity, and humbleness as she continues to grow.
“She has been taking things day-by-day and things have really taken off for her,” said Kari Morehead, a family friend. “She does stay very humble and just goes with the flow of things and she appreciates everything that she gets. She’s so tapped into her community. She’s a very giving girl.”
Reese is now working with General Records to continue recording more music.
Music that certainly seems like will have an impact on a lot of people in ways that “Can’t Bring Me Down” has already.
“She touches your heart with her songs,” Kalisch said. “She touched my heart with her song. I listen to her songs daily, even her Christmas songs that she sings on YouTube, I listen to on a daily basis. The background of her first song release is true in the world today. We have to not let people take us down, we have to stand strong. She stands for her music; she may look like a dainty little petunia, but she is a sidewinder. She’s tough.”
While her single has meant so much to the community, it has meant just as much to Reese, who has been able to impact lives.
As she continues to record more music with general records, continues to spread her message and chase her dreams, this first single will still always mean so much to Reese.
“This song means so much to me, more than I can possibly describe,” Reese said. “It honors the people who raised me, like my mom and my dad because they taught me with those morals not to be taken down. It also in a way helps me remember not to go down when things, or people are trying to take me down.”
Kenya Reese will be singing the national anthem at Jeffco Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) to kick off the final day of the 2024 Colorado High School Track and Field State Championships. She is scheduled to perform at 9:15 a.m.