The up-and-coming country artist has released an acoustic video of her latest single.
Virginia-born country artist Makenzie Phipps is super-proud of her latest single, “Eighteen Wheels,” but she wants you know right off the bat: It’s not an autobiographical song of the open road.
“I do drive a Dodge Ram truck,” she recently told us, “but that right there is a struggle in itself. I could not imagine driving an 18-wheeler.
“Yeah, I can drive my truck just fine on the highway, on the roads. But if you ask me to park that thing, it’s going to take a bit. Yep. Sometimes I can do it. I can park really well at Walmart. But if I go somewhere that’s really congested like the Opry Mills Mall, I park all the way at the end. I’m not even about to risk hitting somebody’s car.”
Phipps hasn’t just been spinning her wheels in Nashville these days. Rather, she’s been building on the success of her breakthrough single — “You Bring the Beer (I’ll Bring the Noise)” — and acclimating herself to new surroundings after relocating to Music City a few months ago.
“Moving to Nashville — that was definitely one of the biggest milestones I've ever had,” she said. “Not only in my music career, but just my life in general. Because I only ever knew what living was like in Bluefield, Virginia. I mean, I was born and raised there for 21 years, up until six months ago.”
Does she think such a move necessary for any up-and-comer in pursuit of success in the country music field?
“Not necessarily,” Phipps said, “but it doesn’t hurt. It does not hurt whatsoever. Although I love my small town in Bluefield, and it’s always going to be home to me, there just weren’t as many opportunities down there for the career path I wanted to take.”
Makenzie began performing at a young age back in Virginia. From singing the National Anthem at local sporting events, she graduated to performing at fairs, festivals, and honky-tonks. “Actually,” she said, “I started singing at just being four years old, singing in church. And I started learning instruments. Piano was my first instrument, and I learned that at 10.
“I really didn’t think that music could be a full-time career at that age. I did enjoy all of the artists that I looked up to, like Loretta, and Miranda Lambert. So I knew being in music was a thing. It’s just that, at that time and that age, I didn’t know you could get paid for it. I just thought you’d put your music out there for everybody to listen to. But as I started getting older in my teen years — early teens, like 14 — that’s when I started doing my own shows, because people were like, ‘You should go and play at these different venues around town.’
“So I started doing my shows when I was 14. And I had my piano, because I hadn’t yet learned the guitar. I just kind of did songs at that time that made me happy. I didn’t market myself in a specific genre at the time. So I would do artists like Loretta Lynn — but I’d also do Avril Lavigne, Demi Lovato, Etta James. I’d do a whole lot of different artists, and go on different genre spectrums. And it wasn’t until later on when I was about 17 or 18 that I decided I wanted to market in country music.
“And I had family and friends tell me that I had a unique voice when I sang country, that I did have that signature twang that a lot of country people need for music. So that’s why I decided to lean more towards country. Nowadays, you have different kinds, different realms of country. Like you have pop country, rock country, soul country, rap country. And I am just trying to make it a point to bring back that true country sound in country music today. Because you can’t forget about the artists that paved the way for country music, like Loretta, and George, and Conway. Even people before them that not many really recognize nowadays. They’re the reason we have country music, so we need to stay true to the country sound of music.”
There is definitely an old school country sound to “Eighteen Wheels.” Written by Shane Begley, it’s an affectingly bittersweet ballad about a truckdriver’s daughter who pays loving tribute to her deceased dad and the sacrifices he made to provide for his family. Again: It’s not autobiographical. But Phipps’ artistry and sincerity is such throughout the song that she enchants you with the sense that she is sharing deeply cherished memories.
“I’m very excited to be releasing this song,” Phipps said, “because I think it’ll pull at some heartstrings.”
All we can say is: Mission accomplished, ma’am.
So what’s up next for Makenzie Phipps?
“I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she said. “That’s all you can really do, honestly, take it one day at a time. I have been really pushing to get as many shows as I can on my 2024 calendar, and I think I’m up to 62 now. So it’s going to be a whirlwind. But I’m looking forward to it, and I would rather stay busy than not be doing anything.
“My biggest hope is that I can continue to grow as an artist, and start to really get more familiar with the music scene in Nashville since I do now live here. But at the end of the day, it’s all just in the Lord’s hands as to what He wants me to do and where He wants me to go. So I will be following the path that He is paving for me, and just seeing what happens.”
