Kelsea Ballerini Shares Why She Values Music Education So Dearly

Music education has always held a special spot in Kelsea's heart.

Written by Jeremy Chua
Kelsea Ballerini Shares Why She Values Music Education So Dearly
Kelsea Ballerini performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 6 during the 2019 CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of CMA

Although Kelsea Ballerini is now a country music superstar, she has never forgotten her humble roots of being a longtime fan of the genre and its artists. The singer, who recently celebrated attaining her fifth No. 1 song “Miss Me More,” vividly recalled her days of being a fan, especially during CMA Fest.

“I used to be here [at CMA Fest] as a fan. And me and my mom would drive in from Knoxville, and I have these pictures from the first time I did this at the old convention center. I bought these weird flower power shorts, waiting in line to meet Taylor [Swift] and Lady Antebellum and Justin Moore,” shared Ballerini backstage at Nissan Stadium during the 2019 CMA Fest. “To just be able to be on this side of it now, I feel like I really get to appreciate the fans and the lines that they wait in and saving up to buy these tickets. It’s a big deal.”

Kelsea Ballerini performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 6 during the 2019 CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of CMA

In addition to giving back to the fans, Ballerini also ensures she gives back and expresses the same gratitude to the educators shaping the next generation of singers and musicians. Which is why being a part of the CMA’s fourth annual “Music Teachers of Excellence” event this year “really inspired” her. In fact, it was Ballerini’s first time attending the honorary night.

Music education has held a special place in the 25-year-old’s heart, and she credits that to her high school choir teacher, Becky Thomas. Thomas, who has since retired, was the first person that encouraged Ballerini to step on the stage and sing.

“I was actually in a musical theater band, the irony, as the ostrich. I’m 98% sure she wrote that part in for me because I had no talking lines or singing lines, in fact. I just walked across the stage. But after that, she really encouraged me to write songs. And the first time I ever played a song that I had written on stage, it was because of her…”

Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini host Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 6 during the 2019 CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of CMA
Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini host Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 6 during the 2019 CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of CMA

So, for the country songstress, “knowing that there are kids in the classroom right now that are having those teachers that are able to have the funds and the resources to give those kids those opportunities” means a lot to her. In fact, it’s almost like a full circle moment, because simply put– “[she] was that kid.”

Ballerini is set to take the CMA Fest Nissan Stadium stage in Nashville to both co-host (with Thomas Rhett) and perform her hits, including the foot-stomping anthem “Miss Me More.”

The 2019 CMA Fest concert special airs on August 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.