One-Woman Show: Musician Katie Toupin
If you’re a musician aspiring to blockbuster success, this conversation with singer-songwriter Katie Toupin is a must-listen. But really anyone seeking to push their creativity to a new level will draw inspiration here. Toupin speaks candidly about her ascent in the notoriously cut-throat music industry, and her insights can be applied to almost any solo endeavor.
Lesson 1: Talent is only part of the equation.
After graduating from high school in Lexington, Kentucky, Toupin decided to punt on college and instead enroll in a kind of self-guided School of Rock. Her father, a blues musician, taught her how to play the guitar. She took voice lessons with an opera singer. And then she teamed up with her friend, Matt Meyers, to book gigs wherever they could—local coffee shops, bars, wineries. In 2011, the duo officially founded the alt-country band Houndmouth.
Which leads us to to Lesson 2: Blind conviction is a skill.
Houndmouth would go on to earn critical acclaim, but from the very start, Toupin considered their ascent inevitable. Looking back, she calls her confidence “unbelievably naive.” But of course, she was right. When Houndmouth released its first hit single, “Sedona," in 2015, it rocketed to #1 on the Billboard chart. Soon Toupin found herself performing on Letterman and Conan. And the band began touring internationally.
Which brings us to Lesson 3: When you’re a Soloist, you’re a business person. Own it.
If Toupin drew musical inspiration from her father, she acquired business acumen from her mother, who ran a thriving Mary Kay business. Toupin would lean on those organizational skills in 2016 when she parted ways with Houndmouth. It was a seemingly odd time to leave. The band was hitting stratospheric levels of success. But Toupin felt stifled and wanted to regain creative and financial control of her career.
Unsurprisingly, she's done just that, and more. In 2018, she self-produced her first solo album, Magnetic Moves. And she began touring nationally. What makes this leap all the more impressive is that she’s truly a one-woman enterprise. She manages her own schedule and promotion. She controls her own social content, produces her own music videos. And, yes, she writes her own music.
At its core, Toupin’s story is about chasing your dreams, leaning into the gritty challenges, and listening to your own voice. The biggest lesson? Forget the critics and just create.
Katie Toupin’s freedom means she can take on whatever projects inspire her. Like recording an album of Blink 182 covers (see video, below) to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation. Entirely fan-funded, the album drops this winter.
She’s also branching out into acting and screenwriting. Because ... why not?
You can follow Toupin on Instagram @katietoupin, or hear her new podcast Toupin Talks, on Facebook and YouTube. Or, even better, text her at (502) 878-7460, because she’ll text you right back. (Yep, there's an app for that too.)