Erin Kinsey Saves Face With New Single ‘Drunk Too’

While she may not be old enough to legally drink, 20-year-old Erin Kinsey uses alcohol as a crutch on her debut single “Drunk Too.”

On the guitar-driven ballad, she says she “didn’t touch a drop,” but when she gets a call from her crush, he begins pouring his heart out to her, so she does the same. The next morning, the man calls her and says he was drunk, and she insists she was drunk as well, to save face.

The Nashville transplant by way of Rockwall says that although some parts of the “Drunk Too” story are embellished, the song was inspired by true events.

“I think the true basis of the story was just about embarrassment,” Kinsey says, “and that situation seemed like the one that explained it the easiest through a song. I’ve been embarrassed in my life many times, and I think almost everybody has. So it just seemed like a situation where it was easy to explain that emotion.”

Kinsey became fascinated with music at age 12, when she began learning guitar and piano. In high school, she was in her school band’s drumline. While she performs with a live band these days, she still dabbles in these instruments, as well as the banjo and mandolin.

Her knack for instrumentation and her love of writing inspired her move to Nashville three years ago to pursue a career.

And the move has certainly paid off. Although she only released her debut single this past April, Kinsey has been working hard behind the scenes as a songwriter. Last year, she co-wrote a song called “PINK,” which is the official anthem of the Susan B. Komen Foundation, with songwriters Jodi Marr and Victoria Shaw. Performed by Dolly Parton, Monica, Jordin Sparks, Rita Wilson and Sara Evans, “PINK” transcends genre, which is something Kinsey wants to do with her music.

Kinsey says being around Nashville-based songwriters and participating in open mics greatly inspires her craft.

“They have a lot of songwriter rounds,” Kinsey says, “where people who have either written hit songs for other people or have written songs for themselves will get up and just play things that they’ve created themselves. And it’s really cool when you see someone who wrote a Garth Brooks hit, like Victoria Shaw, get up. It’s a really cool space to be in. And luckily, I’ve been able to be in a lot of those rounds myself and play things that I’ve written.”

Kinsey will return to Texas on Saturday, Aug. 21, for a performance at Southern Junction, her first performance with her full band in over two years. While she loves Nashville, she misses Texas and comes back to visit often.

Some of her fondest memories in Texas include driving around with her boyfriend, whom she’s been dating for five years. These car rides inspired her latest single, “Just Drive,” a country song with elements of alternative rock.

“When you live with your parents, you don’t get a lot of time to just be with each other,” Kinsey says. “So the time that we did get was on the way to things, or on the way home, when we would just be in the car together. We’d have the windows down and the music up, or we’d have deep conversations. It’s all about enjoying the time that you get with somebody one-on-one in the car.”

Kinsey is writing a collection of songs. She’s not sure if it will be an EP or an album, but she wants to release it “sooner rather than later” and create music that resonates with both her and her listeners.

“I’m writing every day,” Kinsey says. “I’m just trying to get the perfect songs together, the ones that I’m most proud of that I feel like show a range of who I am as an artist.”