Faith, talent propel Mandeville country singer

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

“Karen, your voice is so fantastic,” said Shay Mooney, of the musical duo Dan+Shay after he heard Mandeville native Karen Waldrup sing in the Battle round of NBC’s “The Voice” singing competition. “It reminds me of the old country stuff that I grew up listening to.”

Waldrup is a current contestant on “The Voice,” but her musical beginnings were honed in seventh grade in the St. Peter Church choir in Covington, where she made her confirmation, and also in Our Lady of the Lake Parish’s youth choir in Mandeville, where she was baptized and celebrated her first Communion.

Catholicism runs through her family of four girls. Her mother, Madelyn Bowler Waldrup, is among her grandmother Rosemary Bowler’s 18 children who were raised at St. Rita Church in Harahan.

Our Lady of the Lake’s youth choir shaped her current life.

“I met Chris Eschete, and he really changed my life,” Waldrup said. “He plays guitar and sings and writes songs. Every week, we would come in to sing, and every time he walked in the door, he had a new song he had written. I was like, ‘You just made these up?’ He said,’You just make up anything you want.’”

Eschete not only taught her guitar but also gave her confidence to sing before a crowd.

“He totally taught me the basics of guitar playing and song writing,” Waldrup said. “It was a lot of fun for me and the beginning of all of it. It’s where I wrote my first song.”

Began touring after college

Waldrup, now 37, continued to sing while earning a degree in marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

“I played anywhere with a microphone,” she offered.

Waldrup moved to Nashville at 21, sang in St. Ann Church’s choir and, over three years, saved enough money from selling copy machines to pursue music full-time. She started “The Karen Waldrup Band,” and it’s been a whirlwind of non-stop touring, collaborating and recording with other artists ever since.

“It allowed me to have that cushion to take the risk of playing, doing demo work,” Waldrup said. “It kind of grew like that. I’m not going to lie, it was a lot of years playing $300 bar gigs. … It got me by.”

Waldrup has released four EPs and two albums – her debut album, “Justified” and, in 2023, “Kendall County Road.” Her videos have been played on CMT. She has won 12 Nashville Industry Music Awards, the 2019 Torch Award from the Keith Whitley Fingerprint on Country Music Awards and was named a 2023 Top 5 Artist to Watch by Country Evolution.

Strong female singers have been Waldrup’s role models, especially those like Dolly Parton, who is a philanthropist. (Waldrup established a Mission of Hope Haiti international charity after visiting there in 2018.)

“I love Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Loretta Lynn. I love Reba. I love the classics,” she said. “I’m a huge fan of females who just bring it, give it and leave it on the stage. Anybody expressive and entertaining.”

A videotape with three varied songs, including “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack, got her in the door at “The Voice.” She was in Scotland touring when she got a call to appear on an upcoming season.

“It was a moment I will never forget,” Waldrup said.

For the show’s blind auditions – where judges’ chairs are turned backwards while a contestant performs – she sang Jo Dee Messina’s “Bye Bye,” one of 14 songs she submitted to sing. When the show picked that song for her, she was second-guessing her choice.
“At first I freaked,” Waldrup said, thinking “I shouldn’t have put that song down. … I got over that. I started singing it, and it turned out to be great because it was high energy, and it was right in my lane. The producers knew better than me.”

Backstage during her performance on “The Voice” were Chris Schaffner, her band’s saxophonist from Pennsylvania, who is also Catholic. Waldrup’s husband, Cody Henson, was also there. Karen and Cody were married at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Folly Beach, South Carolina. Her vows were witnessed by her pastor from Nashville, Father Michael Fye, of St. Ann Church.

Schaffner was blown away by Waldrup’s performance.

“She’s my idol,” said Schaffner, who accompanied Waldrup on a singing mission to Haiti. “She’s transformed my life, just being around her. To see her on stage – I’ve never seen her that way. Total confidence; her voice was there. I was in tears. … It was amazing. It lifted my soul. I had never felt that way before.”

Team Dan+Shay knew they wanted her and blocked country music queen, Reba McIntyre, from the chance to pick her.

“It’s been a dream,” she said of being coached by Dan+Shay. “Shay reminds me a lot of myself. He is channel-focused, particularly on melody. He pushes me and makes me reach for vocal notes I wouldn’t have gone for. Working with them has made me expand my vocals and my tone. They’re just incredibly supportive. … They think what we are doing is great and worth it. They are having fun, and it makes me have fun. It’s been a total blessing.”

Since Season 25 of “The Voice” continues – on NBC 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 p.m. Tuesdays – Waldrup couldn’t say how she finished on the show. But, she said, the experience inspired her to write new music.

“It made me want to soar melodically thanks to Dan+Shay,” she said. She wrote 18 new songs since The Voice, including an upbeat and energetic song, “Louisiana Hurricane,” to be released soon.

“A girl can pray, and I’m praying that it will be played in the Superdome in fall 2024,” she said. “I am hoping the track is good enough to be a party jam at the Superdome.”

Not someone with outlandish goals, she already considers herself successful because she makes a living doing something she loves and moving people’s’ hearts.

“I already feel happy where I’ve come,” Waldrup said. “I think ‘The Voice’ allows me to use my platform to do good, to make a difference in the world in a positive way. To imagine my life without music makes me want to cry.

“It’s given me a beautiful life and amazing people who are incredibly generous to me. It’s 100% a God-given talent. I can’t take credit for what God does for me. There have been so many times where I have been on my knees and don’t know what to do, and God takes care of it.”

Waldrup continues to tour worldwide with her band. Check for career updates at https://karenwaldrup.com/.

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