Artist: Mya Byrne
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Song: “Autumn Sun”
Release Date: September 8, 2022
Record Label: Kill Rock Stars Nashville
In Their Words: “‘Autumn Sun’ was written in Berkeley, California, right after the tragic Paradise wildfire smoke cleared. That morning, the harshness of the late autumn light that had been filtered by fire completely changed, buffered and diffused by really tremendous clouds and some kind of refraction. It was the first clean air day, and turned into a very pretty afternoon. My housemates and I all said the same sorts of things about how beautiful and different the light had become as the entire Bay seemed to take a collective deep breath outside for the first time in weeks, and I wrote the song in about an hour on my back porch, a snapshot of the day and a reflection of how seasons of change change us.
“It seemed really appropriate that was gonna be the song that launches this new label — Nashville is changing, and this song is literally about that moment when you know things are about to be different, but you don’t exactly know how — yet. You just know that it’s happening. I believe in Slim Moon, and all the work KRS has historically done to support the cutting edge of music. To have been asked to be the very first artist to release on Kill Rock Stars Nashville both is an honor and demonstrates their commitment to trans women and other marginalized artists being firmly centered in Nashville, in the Americana and country community. This is also exemplified by my longtime friend Aaron Lee Tasjan recording it — he wants to use his skill set and big heart to try to move the needle for me and for other trans people. I really believe Nashville is rising to meet this moment with us.” — Mya Byrne
Photo Credit: Lauren Tabak
