Singing Storyteller: Sophomore Kate Whitefield writes and performs music as a creative outlet

When then-five-year-old Kate Whitefield sang “Three Little Muffins” at her kindergarten talent show, she stood with her right foot awkwardly sticking out because she was too scared to move it.  Singing nervously on stage in the Prairie Elementary cafeteria was the first time she ever performed in front of a crowd. 

And while she didn’t sing an original for that performance, Whitefield wrote her first original song,

“Today,” three years later as a third grader. 

“I never thought about singers not writing their own music because the only person that I listened to when I was seven was Taylor Swift,” Whitefield said. 

Now a sophomore, Whitefield has spent hours performing at open mics, scribbling lyrics on a piece of paper and sticking it in her journal and finding inspiration from movie characters and stories her friends tell her — to the point that she can’t keep track of how many songs she’s written. 

Whitefield draws songwriting inspiration from nearly everything she sees, whether it’s a character in a book, a friend’s story or her own feelings — she aims to tell stories with her songs. Sometimes she keeps the ideas in the songs nonspecific so that they can be relatable to a wide audience, and sometimes she makes them specific to her own life. 

She released her first original song, “New Year’s Song,” to streaming platforms this year by working with a company called Meridian Sound to access a recording studio and equipment to mix the song professionally. She was then sent an mp3 file of the recording and distributed it to streaming services. She also stays active in music by performing at open mics and posting her music on her Instagram account — @kate.whitefield.music. 

“[My Instagram] has proven to be really helpful in keeping me active with music through lulls like with COVID and periods of time that I’m not performing as much,” Whitefield said. 

Whitefield started her Instagram as a way to promote her music, without all of her personal Instagram followers seeing it. Whether it’s a video of her singing at an open mic or strumming her guitar in her house during quarantine, Whitefield’s posts regularly receive dozens of positive comments.  

Music has been a part of Whitefield’s life even before her kindergarten talent show, according to Whitefield’s friend sophomore Delaney McDermed. 

“Music is very important to her,” McDermed said. “I’ve always associated her with music because she’s always creating it, thinking about it, talking about it. It’s always sort of been a part of her.”

When Whitefield’s not posting on Instagram, she’s googling “Kansas City open mics this weekend” on her phone and setting up her performances from there. She performs at local coffee shops and festivals, like Crow’s Coffee and PorchFest. 

Whitefield has performed at PorchFest, a festival where various local performers can showcase their talent on porches for live audiences, for the last four years. She prepares an entire set for her performance, singing both original songs and covers. Whitefield uses the festival as a mile marker to compare how her music has changed in the past year, looking back at the different setlists she’s used. 

“It’s good because I can measure [my progress],” Whitefield said. “But I also enjoy being outside and seeing other performers next to me.”

Donna West, Whitefield’s voice teacher and show choir director, has seen Kate’s talent develop throughout the eight years that she’s known her. 

“She is constantly evolving as a musician,” West said. “I’ve watcher her grow from a child who loved to sing and write simple songs to a young woman who has honed her skill beyond her years.”

But Whitefield’s performances aren’t confined to Kansas City. When she visited Coronado, Calif. last year, she searched for open mics close to where she was staying for shows that would allow a 14-year-old to perform. She ended up singing at restaurants and coffee shops in San Diego and Los Angeles for around 100 people.  

“It definitely wasn’t that different from performing [in Kansas City],” Whitefield said. “It was different kinds of people, but the crowd size was similar. I didn’t feel like I was in front of super big-time people, they were just normal people.”

For Whitefield, music isn’t just about performing in front of a crowd — it plays a part in nearly every decision that she makes, from quitting soccer, lacrosse and basketball to leaving room in her schedule each semester for choir. She plays guitar every day, learning new songs and working on finger positions to improve her playing. 

“It’s pretty much all that I do when I’m not doing my homework or hanging out with friends or eating or sleeping,” Whitefield said. 

Whitefield uses music as a creative outlet, as it’s a way to express her feelings and connect with others. She can write her own feelings and experiences into her songs without feeling like she’s opening up too much. 

“Music is so poetic, and it’s cool that other people can hear it and it doesn’t feel like you’re exposing yourself too much,” Whitefield said. “It’s put into a form that is more easily understood and accepted.” 

While Whitefield doesn’t necessarily want to have a music-based career, she plans to always keep a pen and notebook on hand. 

“I definitely want to keep music in my life, no matter what I do,” Whitefield said. “Like always having a guitar around and to keep writing because, as well as being something that I do for fun and a hobby, it’s also an outlet. And I think that’s really important for everybody to have li